Wf 


. 


AMERICAN  MEN  OF  ENERGY 
OS 

Benjamin  Franklin.  By  Edward  Robins. 
12°.     Illustrated         .         .         .         .     $1.50 

Henry  Knox.  By  Noah  Brooks.  120.  Illus- 
trated   |i.5o 

John  James  Audubon.  Edited  by  his  widow, 
Lucy  Audubon.    120.    Illustrated .    $1.50 

Israel  Putnam.  By  Wiluam  Farrand  Liv- 
ingston. 120.  Illustrated  .  net  $1.35 
By  mail       ......       1.50 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  &  London 


Bmerican  /IDen  of  Ener^ 


Ov  Tei'x')  ovSe  wSela  ov&e  oroai  ovSe  6  tUp 
d^iv-xtov  k6<tijlos  at  7r6Aets  tiaiv,  a'AA'  dvSpfs 
auToi?  eifidres  Oappelv. 

AILI03    ARISTEIDES     (  129-18*    A.D.). 

NEITHER  WALLS,  THEATRES,  PORCHE8,  NOR  SENSE- 
LESS EQUIPAGE,  MAKE  8TATE8,  BUT  MEN  WHO  ARE  ABLE 
TO  RELY  UPON  THEMSELVES. 

TRANS.     BY    ARTHUR    WILLIAMS    AUSTIN. 


ISRAEL  PUTNAM 


GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

FROM  THE  PAINTING  BY  H.   I.   THOMPSON,  IN  THE  STATE  HOUSE,   HARTFORD,  CONN. 


Iferael  Putnam 

Pioneer,  Ranger,  and  Major-General 
1718-1790 


BY 
WILLIAM  FARRAND  LIVINGSTON 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 

3be  Knickerbocker  press 

1901 


Copyright,  1901 

BY 

WILLIAM  FAJIRAND  LIVINGSTON 


Ube  fmtcfcerbocfter  pvcse,  Hew  H?orh 


To 

MY  ALMA   MATER 

WILLIAMS  COLLEGE 

FOUNDED   BY   THE   GALLANT   SOLDIER 

COLONEL  EPHRAIM  WILLIAMS 

UNDER    WHOSE    COMMAND 

ISRAEL   PUTNAM 

MARCHED    INTO    HIS    FIRST   BATTLE 


PREFACE 


jjggjg  ■/.VUA^'.V^ 


ORTUNATELY  I  have  had  access  to 
some  original  sources  of  information  re- 
lating to  Israel  Putnam  which  have 
never  before  been  used  in  any  formal 
presentation  of  his  life.  These  docu- 
ments include  his  official  reports  as  a 
ranger  or  scout  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  ;  the 
diary  which  he  kept  on  his  voyage  to  the  South  ;  his 
General  Orders  in  the  Havana  Campaign  and  the 
American  Revolution ;  and  letters  by  his  own  hand  or 
dictated  by  him  at  different  periods  of  his  life.  His 
holograph  writings,  characterised  as  they  are  by  a 
greater  number  of  literary  defects  than  was  common 
even  in  those  days  when  men  spelled  incorrectly,  punc- 
tuated carelessly,  and  used  capitals  with  lawless  fre- 
quency, plainly  show  that  he  had  little  training  or 
inclination  for  composition.  His  was  the  education  by 
an  adventurous  and  purposeful  life.  It  was  this  that 
made  him  a  notable  figure  among  American  heroes. 
New  light  is  thrown  upon  Putnam's  career  not  only  by 
the  material  of  which  he  was  the  author,  but  also  by 
the  journals,  letters,  and  other  writings  of  many  of  his 
comrades  and  associates.  These  contemporary  docu- 
ments give  us  a  truer  and  even  more  thrilling  impres- 
sion of  his  daring  deeds  than  the  exaggerated  versions 


vi  Preface 

of  his  exploits  that  have  appeared  in  many  of  the  later 
accounts  of  his  life.  Numerous  facts,  not  generally 
known,  which  relate  to  Putnam  before  the  American 
Revolution  and  which  are  presented  in  this  biography, 
emphasise  a  period  of  his  life  that  had  a  very  impor- 
tant relation  to  his  subsequent  military  service.  The 
reputation  for  indomitable  courage,  ready  resourceful- 
ness, practical  efficiency,  sterling  integrity,  and  warm- 
hearted companionableness  that  he  gained  in  the 
colonial  wars  was  of  invaluable  help  in  the  first  years 
of  the  American  Revolution,  for  it  inspired  the  patriots 
under  his  leadership  with  glowing  enthusiasm  and  bold 
confidence  in  their  struggle  for  freedom. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book  I  have  received 
favours  from  many  persons,  among  whom  have  been 
Mr.  Herbert  Putnam,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Librarian 
of  Congress;  Mr.  Albert  C.  Bates,  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
Librarian  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  ;  Rev. 
Alfred  P.  Putnam,  D.D.,  of  Salem,  Mass.  ;  Mr. 
Eben  Putnam,  of  Burlington,  Vt.  ;  Mrs.  Julia  A. 
Philbrick,  of  Dan  vers,  Mass.  ;  and  Mrs.  Mary  Put- 
nam Bosworth,  of  New  York  City.  I  have  appreci- 
ated especially  the  kindness  of  the  Hon.  Leonard 
D.  Carver,  State  Librarian  of  Maine,  who  has  afforded 
me  every  facility  in  the  use  of  the  valuable  collection  of 
historical  works  in  the  Maine  State  Library.  I  wish  to 
acknowledge  also  the  courtesies  of  Mr.  Ernest  W. 
Emery,  Assistant  Librarian  of  Maine,  Col.  E.  C.  Ste- 
vens, Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  of  Maine, 
and  Miss  Annie  F.  Page,  Librarian  of  the  Hubbard 
Library,  Hallowell,  Maine. 

Augusta,  Maine,  July,  1901. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.— In  Old  Salem  Village  (i  718-1740)  1 

II.— The  Connecticut  Pioneer  (1 740-1 754)    .        .       9 

III. — The  Call  to  Arms  (1755) 17 

IV.— The  Ranger  (i 755-1 756) 27 

V.— Guarding  the  Forts  (1756)       ....      44 

VI.— Savage  Warfare  (1757-1758)    ....      54 

VII.— The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga  (1758)        .        .      74 

VIII.— A  Prisoner  (1758) 85 

IX.— Three  More  Campaigns  (1759-1761)        .        .    102 

X.— The  Capture  of  Havana  (1 762-1 763)        .        .117 

XI.— In  Bradstreet's  Expedition  (1764)         .        .     129 

XII.— The  Honoured  Citizen  (1765-1772) .        .        .147 

XIII.— A  Military  Adventurer  (1772-1773)       .        .    162 

XIV.— An  Ardent  Patriot  ( 1 773-1774)        .        .        .173 

XV.— War's  Alarms  (1774-1775) 181 

XVI.— A  Bold  Leader  (1775) 196 

XVII.— The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  (1775) .        .        .214 

XVIII.— Besieging  Boston  (1775-1776)    .        .        .        .243 

XIX.— Fortifying  New  York  (1776)    .        .        .        .273 

XX.— The  Battle  of  Long  Island  (1776)  .        .        .292 

XXI.— A  Forced  Retreat  (1776) 3°5 

XXII.— At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton  (1 776-1 777).    329 
XXIII. — The  Command  of  the  Hudson  Highlands 

(1777-1778) 344 


Contents 


Vlll 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.— In  the  Recruiting  Service  (1778-1779)  .        .  377 

XXV.— Last  Years  (1 779-1790) 400 

Appendix    I.— Portraits  of  Israel  Putnam        ,        .  421 
II. — The    Command    in    the    Battle    of 

Bunker  Hiix 423 


COAT-OF-ARMS  OF  THE 
PUTNAM  FAMILY. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

General  Israel  Putnam.        .        .        .    Frontispiece 

From  the  painting  by  H.  I.  Thompson,  in  the  State  House, 
Hartford,  Conn. 

CoaT-of-Arms  of  the  Putnam  Family  .         Tailpiece  viii 
Old  Putnam  House,  Danvers,  Mass.  (showing  south 

side),  Birthplace  of  General  Israel  Putnam    .  2 

Tablet  Placed  December  17, 1897,  at  Danvers,  Mass.  4 

Chamber  in  which  Israel  Putnam  was  Born     .        .  6 
Meeting-House  of  1701,  in  Old  Salem  Village,  now 
Danvers,  Mass.,  in  which  Israel  Putnam  was 

Baptised  on  February  2,  17 18 8 

Wolf  Den,  Pomfret,  Conn.    .       .       .       .       .       .12 

Putnam  Narrating  the  Capture  of  the  Wolf  .        .  14 

From  a  drawing  by  T.  F.  Hoppin. 

Israel  Putnam's  Powder  Horn 52 

Tree  to  which  Tradition  says  Putnam  was  Tied 
after  he  was  captured  by  the  indians  in 
August,  1758 9° 

Fac-simile  of  a  Letter  Written  by  General  Israel 

Putnam no 

Putnam's  Sign 156 

From  original  tavern  sign  now  kept  in  rooms  of  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Fac-simile   of  Page  from  Putnam's  Diary  of  the 

Southern  Expedition 164 

Israel  Putnam's  Plow 192 

News  from  Lexington  :  Putnam  Leaving  the  Plow  194 

From  the  painting  by  Alonzo  Chappel. 
ix 


x  Illustrations 


PAGE 

Statue  of  Israel  Putnam 210 

J.  Q.  A.  Ward,  sculptor 

General  Israel  Putnam 218 

From  the  painting  by  Alonzo  Chappel. 

Major-Gen eral  Israel  Putnam 234 

After  the  painting  by  Col.  J.  Trumbull. 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill 236 

From  the  painting  by  Col.  J.  Trumbull. 

General  Israel  Putnam 240 

From  the  painting  by  J.  Wilkinson. 

General  Putnam's  Oath  of  Allegiance     .        .        .    248 
Fac-simile  of  Letter  Written  by  General  Israel 

Putnam 250 

View  from  Fort  Putnam,  West  Point  .        .        .370 

Fort  Putnam,  West  Point 374 

Main  Entrance  to  Putnam  Memorial  Park,  Red- 
ding, Conn. 384 

A  Restored  Cabin  in  Putnam  Memorial  Park,  Red- 
ding, Conn. 386 

Putnam's  Hill,  Greenwich,  Conn.    Scene  of  Israel 

Putnam's  Ride 392 

General  Israel  Putnam's  Saddle        .        .        .        .    394 
Putnam  Memorial  Park,   Redding,   Conn.     Monu- 
ment and  Fire-places 396 

Putnam's  Duel  with  the  British  Officer  .        .        .    406 
House  in  Brooklyn,  Conn.,  where  General  Israel 

Putnam  Died 412 

General  Putnam's  Monument 414 

Slab  taken  from  Israel  Putnam's  Grave  in  Brook- 
lyn, Conn.  Now  Kept  in  State  House,  Hart- 
ford, Conn 416 

Statue  of  General  Israel  Putnam,  at  Brooklyn, 

Conn 418 


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and  edited  by  F.  B.  Hough.     2   vols.      Roxbury,  Mass.: 

1866. 
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Salem,  Mass:  1893. 
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Putnam,  Daniel,  Letters  of,  in  The  Portfolio,    1818,  and    in 

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Peabody,    Hill,    Grosvenor,    Putnam,  Alfred    P.,  Fiske, 

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ISRAEL  PUTNAM 


ISRAEL  PUTNAM 


CHAPTER  I 

IN   OLD  SALEM  VILLAGE 
1718-1740 

N  the  upper  chamber  of  a  colonial  home- 
stead at  the  foot  of  Hathorne  Hill  in 
Salem  Village,  now  Danvers,  Massa- 
chusetts, there  was  born,  January  7, 
17 1 8,  the  twelfth  child  of  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Porter)  Putnam.  These 
Puritan  parents,  who  in  their  calendar  knew  no  such 
festival  as  Candlemas,  happened  to  choose  it  as  the 
date  for  the  baptism  of  their  infant  son.  So  on  the  sec- 
ond of  February, — the  ceremonial  day  across  the  ocean 
for  candles  to  be  ablaze  on  altars  and  in  processions — 
the  babe,  nearly  a  month  old,  was  taken  to  the  bare 
little  meeting-house  on  Watch-House  Hill  ;  and  there, 
at  his  baptism  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Clark,  he  was  given 
the  name  of  Israel  after  his  mother's  father,  Israel 
Porter. 

The  paternal  great-grandfather  of  little  Israel  had 


2  Israel  Putnam  [1718- 

been  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Salem  Village.  This 
ancestor,  John  Putnam,  who  belonged  to  the  ancient 
family  in  England  of  which  George  Puttenham,  the 
author  of  the  Arte  of  English  Poesie,  was  a  distinguished 
member,  had  emigrated,  with  his  wife  Priscilla  and 
children,  from  Aston  Abbotts,  Buckinghamshire.  He 
made  his  new  home,  in  America,  on  a  grant  of  land 
which  he  received  as  early  as  1641  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  territory  included  in  the  town  of  Salem.  He  be- 
came a  prosperous  farmer  and,  at  his  death  in  1662,  left 
to  his  three  sons  an  estate  which,  together  with  the 
property  acquired  by  themselves,  made  them  the 
largest  taxpayers  in  the  community.  These  Putnams 
— Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  John — were  men  of  energy, 
thrift,  and  uprightness,  and  held  important  offices  in 
town,  military,  and  parish  affairs.  Thomas,  whose  wife, 
Ann  Holyoke,  died  in  1665,  married  in  the  following 
year,  Mary  Veren,  widow  of  Nathaniel  Veren,  a  wealthy 
merchant  of  Salem.  To  Joseph,  his  son  by  this  second 
wife,  Thomas  Putnam  bequeathed  the  house  *  which 
he  had  built  in  1648  at  the  foot  of  Hathorne  Hill. 
Here  the  young  man,  who  became  Israel's  father, 
brought  his  bride,  Elizabeth  Porter,  in  1690.  Two 
years  later,  when  the  witchcraft  delusion  was  at  its 
height,  Joseph  Putnam  did  everything  to  show  his  dis- 
approval of  the  course  which  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parris 
and  the  principal  men  in  Salem  Village  were  pursuing.f 

*  This  house,  which  is  still  standing,  has  been  inherited  suc- 
cessively by  descendants  of  Thomas  Putnam.  Twice  at  least — 
once  about  1744,  and  again  in  1831, — it  has  been  enlarged  and 
remodelled.  In  1897,  "The  Israel  Putnam  Chapter"  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  placed  a  bronze  tablet 
upon  the  house  to  mark  it  as  the  birthplace  of  Israel  Putnam. 

f  Upham,  Salem  Witchcraft. 


i74o]  In  Old  Salem  Village  3 

In  the  excitement  of  the  time,  no  ties  of  kinship  or  re- 
ligion could  protect  a  person  who  had  censured  his 
pastor  and  had  dared  to  sympathise  with  persons  ac- 
cused or  condemned  as  witches.  Not  only  was  dis- 
favour expressed  towards  Joseph  by  his  half-brothers, 
Sergeant  Thomas  Putnam  and  Deacon  Edward  Putnam, 
but  the  bitterness  of  feeling,  the  rancour,  the  horror,  of 
the  superstitious  folk  vented  itself  upon  him  so  that 
his  life  was  imperilled.  For  six  months,  until  the 
witchcraft  days  were  ended,  he  kept  his  firelock  loaded 
and  within  ready  reach  and  his  swiftest  horse  always 
saddled  in  the  stable,  in  order  to  defend  himself  and 
escape  at  a  moment's  warning,  if  his  enemies,  some  of 
them  his  own  relatives,  attempted  to  arrest  him. 
Warm  sympathy  for  all  persons  wrongfully  accused, 
ready  generosity,  and  indomitable  courage,  these 
strong  elements  of  character  were  the  birthright  of 
Joseph  Putnam's  son 

On  his  mother's  side,  also,  Israel  Putnam  came  of 
sterling  stock.  Elizabeth  Putnam  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  John  Porter,  "  Farmer  Porter,"  as  he  was 
called,  a  man  of  "  good  repute  for  piety,  honesty,  and 
estate,"  who  had  emigrated  from  England  and  settled 
in  Salem  Village  about  the  same  time  as  the  first  Put- 
nams.*  His  son  Israel — the  grandfather  after  whom 
Israel  Putnam  was  named — married  Elizabeth  Hath- 
orne,  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in 
the  colony.  This  was  William  Hathorne,  who  came  to 
America  from  Wiltshire,  England,  in  1630,  and  settled 
first  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  but  soon  afterwards 
removed  to  Salem,  which  had  granted  him  large  tracts 
of  land  as  an  inducement  for  him  to  live  there,  the 


*J.  W.  Porter,  Genealogy  of  Porter  Family. 


4  Israel  Putnam  [1718- 

inhabitants  of  the  town  regarding  such  a  citizen  as  a 
1 '  public  benefit. ' '  Among  the  ancestors  of  Israel  Put- 
nam there  is  no  more  striking  personage  than  this 
maternal  great-grandfather,  whom  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne, also  a  lineal  descendant  (he  preferred  to  spell 
the  family  name  with  the  w),  pictures,  in  writing  of 
old  Salem,  as  the  "  grave,  bearded,  sable-cloaked,  and 
steeple-crowned  progenitor,  who  came  so  early,  with 
his  Bible  and  his  sword,  and  trod  the  unworn  street 
with  such  a  stately  port,  and  made  so  large  a  figure  as 
a  man  of  war  and  peace."  William  Hathorne  was  a 
soldier,  legislator,  judge  ;  he  was  a  leader  in  old  Salem 
and  had  all  the  Puritan  traits. 

It  was  in  the  place  so  closely  associated  with  the 
story  of  his  ancestors  in  America  that  the  first  part  of 
the  boyhood  of  Israel  Putnam  was  spent.  Of  the 
thirteen  children  who  were  born  to  Joseph  and  Eliza- 
beth Putnam,  eleven  were  living  at  the  time  of  their 
father's  death.  Israel,  the  youngest  but  one,  was  then 
only  five  years  old.  Three  of  his  sisters,  Mary,  Eliza- 
beth, and  Sarah,  were  already  married,  and  Rachel's 
wedding  day  was  this  same  year,  1723.  William,  the 
eldest  sou,  was  twenty-three  years  of  age.  The 
children  at  home,  besides  Israel,  were  Anne,  David, 
Eunice,  Huldah,  and  little  Mehitable,  whose  ages 
ranged  from  eighteen  to  three  years.*  In  the  will 
which  Joseph  Putnam  made  a  short  time  before  his 
death  he  provided  for  his  wife,  bequeathed  money  to 
all  his  daughters,  and  landed  property  to  his  sons. 
William's  share  of  the  estate  was  the  "  Old  Farm." 
The  inheritance  of  David  and  Israel  included  the  home- 
stead. The  widowed  mother  was  to  have  for  her  own 
support  and  that  of  the  children  under  age,  the  use  of 

*  Eben  Putnam,  History  of  Putnam  Family. 


i74oj  In  Old  Salem  Village  5 

the  property  of  David  and  Israel  until  these  sons 
came  into  full  possession  of  their  inheritance.  At  that 
time  they  were  to  pay  her  "  yearly  the  sum  of  Ten 
Pounds  each  in  Payable  money,  in  ye  whole  Twenty 
Pounds. ' '  She  was  ' '  also  to  have  a  Room  or  two  ' '  in 
the  homestead.  But  widow  Elizabeth  was  married,  in 
1727,  to  Captain  Thomas  Perley,  of  Boxford,  Massa- 
chusetts. David  was  almost  of  age  and  could  assume 
the  care  of  the  homestead.  The  younger  children 
went  with  their  mother  to  the  home  of  their  step- 
father, and  it  was  there  that  Israel,  who  was  now  ten 
years  of  age,  lived  until  he  was  old  enough  to  take 
charge  of  the  portion  of  the  farm  which  his  father  left 
to  him:  Meanwhile  he  frequently  visited  his  brothers 
and  the  relatives  at  Salem  Village. 

Israel  was  an  active,  robust  youth.  Books  were  few 
and  school  terms  short  and  so  in  a  sense  he  was  turned 
loose  upon  nature, — and  nature  can  teach  boys  won- 
derful things.  He  loved  the  out-of-door  life,  for  that 
was  his  element,  and  the  sports  with  his  companions 
were  an  outburst  of  the  healthy  natural  impulse  to  run, 
to  race,  to  leap,  to  turn  handsprings,  to  wrestle,  to  feel 
no  restraint  of  exuberant  spirits.  In  the  athletic  con- 
tests with  his  young  friends,  Israel  was  the  champion 
and  at  all  times  he  was  a  favourite  playmate. 

As  for  fearlessness,  this  vigorous,  healthy  boy  seems 
to  have  been  infused  with  it.  There  is  the  story  of 
his  climbing  out  so  far  into  a  tree  one  day  when  he  was 
hunting  birds'  nests  that  the  bough  broke.  A  lower 
branch  caught  him  as  he  fell,  and  he  hung  by  his 
clothes,  head  downwards,  his  hands  wildly  beating  the 
air  for  something  to  grasp  and  his  feet  vainly  strug- 
gling for  a  resting-place.  His  companions  saw  no  way 
to  help  him  and  continued  to  stand  looking  up  at  him 


6  Israel  Putnam  [1718- 

from  the  foot  of  the  tree,  but  Israel  shouted  to  one  of 
them,  who  had  a  gun,  to  break  the  branch  by  sending 
a  bullet  into  it.  The  boy  hesitated  from  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  his  own  skill  as  a  marksman,  but  Israel 
persisted  in  taking  the  risk  of  being  hit  rather  than  to 
remain  longer  in  his  predicament.  So  the  gun  was 
fired  with  the  happy  result  of  freeing  him  from  his 
mid-air  position.  Down  he  came,  and  luckily  none  of 
his  bones  were  broken  by  the  fall.  The  next  day,  not- 
withstanding his  bruises,  he  ventured  again  into  the 
tree  and  succeeded  in  getting  the  coveted  nest. 

Israel  was  a  lad  of  self-respecting  spirit.  The  fol- 
lowing anecdote  is  told  by  Colonel  David  Humphreys 
about  this  country  boy,  who  bore  ridicule  from  a  city 
youth  until  insulted  pride  considered  patience  no 
longer  a  virtue: 

"The  first  time  he  went  to  Boston,  he  was  insulted  for  his 
rusticity  by  a  boy  of  twice  his  size  and  age  ;  after  bearing  the 
sarcasms  until  his  patience  was  worn  out,  he  challenged,  en- 
gaged, and  vanquished  his  unmannerly  antagonist  to  the  great 
diversion  of  a  crowd  of  spectators." 

Young  Putnam  early  developed  a  chivalrous  nature, 
for  he  came  very  near  having  a  similar  muscular  en- 
counter in  the  vicinity  of  his  own  home  with  a  boy  who 
had  been  sneering  at  and  deriding  a  neighbour's 
daughter  for  no  other  reason  than  that  her  parents 
were  poor.  Israel  resented  such  unfeeling  behaviour 
and  was  about  to  teach  the  offending  school-fellow  a 
summary  lesson  in  manners  when  the  coward  made  a 
retreat. 

Several  years  before  the  boy-farmer  became  of  age 
he  was  fully  able  to  do  the  work  of  a  man,  and 
seems  to  have  taken  considerable  pride  in  keeping  pace 


i74o]  In  Old  Salem  Village  7 

with  the  men.  Sometimes  he  had  no  difficulty  in  ex- 
celling them.  He  had  a  decided  inclination  for  this 
agricultural  life.  There  was  an  opportunity  for  his 
daring  as  well  as  his  strength,  and  we  have  the  story 
of  his  taming  a  vicious  bull.  Having  put  on  spurs,  he 
caught  the  animal  in  an  open  field  and  leaped  astride 
his  back.  There  he  clung,  riding  furiously  around  the 
pasture,  and  then  on  into  a  swamp  until  the  bull  was 
utterly  subdued.* 

One  other  anecdote  is  told,  relating  to  Putnam  at 
this  period.  He  was  called  in  by  a  neighbour  to  help 
in  whipping  a  refractory  negro.  The  coloured  man's 
stubbornness,  however,  had  been  caused  in  part  by  the 
hot-tempered  treatment  which  he  had  received  from 
his  master.  While  the  latter  was  trying  to  hold 
"  Cudge  "  so  that  he  could  be  tied  for  the  lashing, 
Putnam  deftly  slipped  the  noose  over  them  both  and, 
having  pinioned  them  thus,  drew  them  up  in  the  barn 
by  means  of  the  rope,  one  end  of  which  had  been 
thrown  over  a  beam.  There  he  left  them  struggling 
aloft  while  he  went  off  to  enjoy  his  joke  before  he 
should  release  them.  The  affair  ended  much  better 
than  might  have  been  expected,  for  the  negro  was 
amused,  and  the  master,  although  at  first  very  angry 
at  Putnam,  was  convinced,  after  all,  that  the  good 
humour  into  which  the  black  man  was  put  was  more 
effective  than  a  dozen  floggings. 

While  he  was  still  under  age,  Putnam  practically  as- 
sumed the  charge  of  the  Salem  Village  farm  with  his 
brother  David.  A  portion  of  the  estate  was  definitely 
set  apart  as  Israel's  share  in  1738,  in  his  twenty-first 
year,  and  there  he  built  a  house  for  a  home  of  his  own 
in  a  field  near  his  birthplace. 

*  Hanson,  History  of  Danvers,  Mass. 


8  Israel  Putnam  [1718-40 

About  four  miles  away  in  the  south-west  part  of 
Salem  Village  and  near  the  boundary  line  which  sep- 
arated the  town  from  Lynn,  lived  Israel's  sweetheart, 
Hannah  Pope.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Mehitable  Pope,  and  her  first  ancestors  in  America, 
like  those  of  her  lover,  had  been  among  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  town.*  On  July  19,  1739,  in  the  Pope 
homestead,  Israel  Putnam  and  Hannah  Pope  were 
married.  The  young  husband  took  his  wife  of  eight- 
een years  of  age  to  the  house  which  he  had  just  built 
upon  his  farm  and  there  they  began  housekeeping. 

There,  also,  their  first  child  was  born.  He  wTas  bap- 
tised on  the  eighth  day  of  June,  1740,  and  was  given 
the  name  of  Israel  after  his  father. 


C.  H.  Pope,  History  of  Pope  Family, 


MEETING-HOUSE  OF  1701,  IN  OLD  SALEM  VILLAGE,  NOW 
DANVERS,  MASS.,  IN  WHICH  ISRAEL  PUTNAM  WAS 
BAPTISED  ON  FEBRUARY  2,  1718. 


CHAPTER    II 

THK  CONNECTICUT  PIONEKR 


i 740- i 754 

ITHIN  two  years  after  building  his 
house  upon  the  share  of  the  farm 
which  he  had  inherited,  Putnam  began 
to  make  plans  to  remove  from  his  na- 
tive town  to  another  colony.  Reports 
had  reached  him  of  the  value  of  lauds 
in  the  eastern  part  of  Connecticut  for  cultivation. 
Families  from  Salem,  L,ynn,  and  other  towns  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  had  left  the  farms  which  had  been  tilled 
for  several  generations,  and  established  homes  in  the 
neighbouring  colony.  The  stories  which  came  back  of 
the  prosperity  of  these  pioneers  made  many  young 
men,  whose  sires  and  grandsires  had  lived  in  one  spot, 
ambitious  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  new  region. 

It  was  with  money  obtained  by  the  sale  of  land  in 
Salem  Village,  that  Putnam  was  able  to  buy  a  farm  in 
Connecticut.  The  old  records  show  that  for  seven  dif- 
ferent portions  of  his  inheritance  which  he  sold  to  his 
brother  David  and  other  persons  about  1740,  he  re- 
ceived ^1920.  His  first  purchase  of  land  in  Connecti- 
cut was  made  in  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Joseph  Pope,  who  like  himself  was  twenty-one  years  old. 

9 


io  Israel  Putnam  [i74o- 

The  transaction  occurred  March  15,  1739,  with  Gov- 
ernor Jonathan  Belcher,  of  Boston,  from  whom  the 
young  men  obtained  514^  acres,  for  the  sum  of  ^2572 
10s. — at  the  rate  of  ^5  an  acre — payable  in  bills  of 
credit  on  the  province  of  Massachusetts.  They  gave 
bond  and  mortgage  for  the  payment  of  this  amount. 
The  tract  of  land  was  situated  in  a  district  then  known 
as  "  Mortlake,"  which  twelve  years  later  was  formally 
annexed  to  the  town  of  Pomfret  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Connecticut  and  which,  in  1786,  became  a 
part  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn.  The  present  boundary 
line  between  Pomfret  and  Brooklyn  passes  through  the 
land  which  Israel  Putnam  and  Joseph  Pope  jointly 
bought  of  Governor  Belcher.  These  young  men  were 
practically  pioneers  of  the  region,  for  the  history  of  the 
Mortlake  district  shows  that  a  large  part  of  it  was  in 
its  primitive  condition  at  the  time  of  their  purchase. 

Putnam  may  have  made  a  special  journey  to  Con- 
necticut in  1739,  but  he  did  not  take  his  wife  and  baby 
there  before  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1740.*  The  dis- 
tance was  more  than  seventy-five  miles.  In  those  days 
travelling  was  slow  and  tedious.  Putnam's  first  work 
on  his  new  possessions  was  to  build  a  small  house  f 
and  clear  as  much  land  as  possible  for  cultivation.  In- 
deed, from  the  very  beginning  of  his  Connecticut  life, 
he  applied  himself  so  industriously  and  energetically 


*  The  date  usually  given  is  1739,  hut  the  fact  that  his  first 
child  was  born  in  Salem  Village  in  1740,  and  was  baptised  in 
June  of  that  year  in  the  same  town  would  indicate  that  Putnam 
did  not  remove  his  family  to  Connecticut  before  1740. 

f  The  site  of  this  house  is  now  known  by  some  foundation 
stones  ;  and  for  many  years  after  Putnam's  death  it  was  also 
marked  by  a  pear  tree  which  he  planted  and  a  well  which  he 
dug. 


i754]         The  Connecticut  Pioneer  n 

to  work,  that  he  was  unusually  prosperous.  Within 
two  years  he  had  not  only  bought  out  Joseph  Pope's 
share  of  the  property,  but  had  paid  all  indebtedness  to 
Governor  Belcher,  who  released  the  mortgage  and  gave 
a  quitclaim  to  Putnam  on  June  13,  1741.  Part  of  the 
money,  which  was  used  in  securing  this  full  title  to  the 
farm,  came  to  Putnam  from  the  sale  of  remaining  por- 
tions of  his  inheritance  in  Salem  Village.  His  Con- 
necticut estate  yielded  him  good  returns  for  the  labour 
which  he  vigorously  spent  upon  it  with  the  assistance 
of  his  negro  servant.  The  farm  was  advantageously 
situated.  A  part  of  the  land  was  level  and  the  rest 
gently  sloping.  The  soil  was  fertile  and  readily  culti- 
vated. Besides  obtaining  timber  for  farm  buildings, 
enclosing  his  fields  with  stone  fences,  sowing  and  reap- 
ing, caring  for  his  live  stock,  Putnam  took  much 
interest  in  planting  and  grafting  fruit  trees,  and  intro- 
duced several  new  varieties,  especially  the  winter  apple, 
"  Roxbury  Russet,"  which  he  brought  with  him  from 
Salem. 

Putnam  had  been  living  upon  his  farm  two  or  more 
years  when  an  incident  occurred  which  was  destined  to 
be  always  closely  associated  with  his  name.  This  was 
the  wolf-hunt  in  the  winter  of  1742-43.  A  she- wolf 
caused  Putnam  and  some  of  the  other  settlers  great 
loss  by  preying  upon  their  sheepfolds.  She  had  re- 
peatedly eluded  the  hunters,  although  they  were  suc- 
cessful in  killing  most  of  her  young.  She  frequently 
returned  from  the  woods  in  the  west  and  once  barely 
escaped  from  a  steel  trap  by  tearing  her  paw  from  her 
claws  which  were  caught  in  it.  One  night  when  prowl- 
ing over  Putnam's  farm,  she  killed  seventy  of  his 
sheep  and  goats,  and  lacerated  many  of  the  lambs  and 
kids.     In  this  exigency  he  and  five  Pomfret  men  ar- 


12  Israel  Putnam  [i74o- 

ranged  a  continuous  pursuit  by  agreeing  to  hunt  alter- 
nately in  pairs.  Fortunately  a  light  snow  had  fallen 
and  the  course  of  the  wolf  could  be  easily  traced.  The 
tracks  showed  one  foot  to  be  shorter  than  the  other 
paws.  This  was  proof  that  the  animal  was  the  same 
which  had  previously  lost  some  of  her  claws  in  the  trap. 
On  reaching  the  Connecticut  River,  the  hunters  found 
that  the  wolf  had  turned  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Following  the  trail  back  towards  Pomfret  and  travel- 
ling all  night,  they  arrived  within  about  three  miles  of 
Putnam's  farmhouse  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
when  John  Sharp,  a  lad  of  seventeen  years  of  age,  who 
had  outstripped  the  other  pursuers,  discovered  the  den 
into  which  the  wolf  had  been  driven  by  the  blood- 
hounds. The  news  of  the  location  of  her  lair  spread 
rapidly,  and  many  persons,  armed  with  guns  and  sup- 
plied with  material  for  smoking  her  out,  hastened  to 
the  place,  which  was  among  the  granite  boulders  on 
the  side  of  a  steep,  craggy  hill. 

The  whole  day  was  spent  by  Putnam  and  his  neigh- 
bours in  attempting  to  dislodge  the  animal,  but  the 
dogs — one  of  them  Putnam's  own  hound — which  were 
sent  into  the  den  returned  frightened  and  badly 
wounded  and  would  not  go  in  again.  Straw  and  sul- 
phur were  burned  within  the  entrance,  but  without 
compelling  the  wolf  to  quit  her  hiding-place.  Twelve 
unsuccessful  hours  passed  away.  It  was  already  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  yet  Putnam  felt  the  importance  of 
continuing  the  efforts  in  the  emergency.  His  negro 
servant  being  unwilling  to  enter  the  den  and  attempt 
to  shoot  the  wolf,  Putnam  himself,  notwithstanding 
the  remonstrances  of  his  neighbours  against  so  perilous 
a  venture,  made  ready  to  undertake  it. 

He  took  off  his  coat  and  waistcoat  :  then  he  tied  a 


1754]         The  Connecticut  Pioneer  13 

long  rcpe  around  his  legs  in  order  that  he  could  be 
pulled  back  by  it  when  he  kicked  it  as  a  signal  ;  he 
lighted  the  torch  which  he  had  improvised  from  some 
strips  of  birch  bark  and,  holding  it  in  his  hand, 
crawled  into  the  cave.  The  entrance  was  about  two 
feet  square  and  very  slippery  on  account  of  the  ice. 
The  den  descended  obliquely  fifteen  feet,  then  ran  hori- 
zontally about  ten  feet  more  and  ascended  gradually 
sixteen  feet  to  the  end  of  the  opening.  It  was  not  more 
than  a  yard  wide  in  any  part  and  it  was  so  low  over- 
head that  in  no  place  could  a  person  raise  himself  from 
his  hands  and  knees. 

Crawling  slowly  down  to  the  level  part  and  continu- 
ing until  he  reached  the  gradual  ascent,  Putnam  saw 
the  fiery  eyes  of  the  wolf  as  she  crouched  at  the  end  of 
the  dark  cave,  gnashing  her  teeth  and  growling  at  him. 
He  gave  the  signal  which  he  had  arranged,  but  the 
excited  people,  hearing  the  savage  sound  and  thinking 
that  he  had  been  attacked,  dragged  him  out  with  such 
solicitous  but  ill-judged  energy  that  his  shirt  was 
stripped  over  his  head  and  his  skin  severely  scratched. 
He  prepared  himself  to  enter  again,  this  time  taking 
his  gun,  which  he  had  loaded  with  nine  buckshot. 
Holding  it  in  one  hand  and  a  torch  in  the  other,  he 
advanced  farther  than  before  into  the  den  and  found 
the  wolf  even  fiercer,  howling,  rolling  her  eyes,  snap- 
ping her  teeth,  and  dropping  her  head  between  her 
legs.  He  fired  at  her  just  as  she  was  evidently  about 
to  spring  upon  him.  Being  instantly  pulled  out,  he  re- 
freshed himself  and  waited  for  the  smoke  to  disappear 
out  of  the  den.  He  then  made  a  third  venture.  When 
he  approached  the  wolf  this  time  he  heard  nothing  from 
her  and,  touching  her  nose  with  his  torch,  found  that 
she  was  dead.     He  grasped  her  ears,  kicked  the  rope 


14  Israel  Putnam  [1740- 

and  was  drawn  out,  dragging  his  victim  into  the  pre- 
sence of  the  astonished  and  exultant  people.  Up  the 
ragged  and  icy  face  of  the  hill  and  through  the  wild 
woodland  the  wolf  was  carried  to  a  house  a  mile  dis- 
tant and  suspended  from  a  beam  into  which  an  iron 
spike  had  been  driven.  Then  at  that  midnight  hour  a 
sort  of  "  wolf  jubilee  "  was  held  and,  for  several  suc- 
ceeding days,  people  came  from  different  directions  to 
see  the  animal. 

The  exploit  won  at  once  for  Putnam  a  local  reputa- 
tion for  great  bravery.  Afterwards,  when  he  became 
famous  as  a  hero  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  and 
the  American  Revolution,  the  story  of  the  wolf-hunt 
was  universally  told  to  illustrate  his  characteristic  dar- 
ing, and  it  gave  him  the  sobriquet  of  "  Old  Wolf  Put- 
nam "  during  his  military  career.  It  is  an  interesting 
coincidence  that  the  crest  of  the  coat-of-arms  belonging 
to  the  ancient  family  of  Puttenham,  and  which  is  borne 
by  the  American  branch,  whose  most  distinguished 
member  is  the  wolf- slayer,  should  be  a  wolf's  head. 

The  story  of  Putnam  and  the  wolf  has  had  a  special 
fascination  as  an  American  household  tale.  It  was  a 
favourite  selection  in  the  old  reading-books.  How 
many  generations  of  boys  have  keenly  enjoyed  the 
anecdote  of  the  bold  deed ! 

But  some  serious  narrators  of  the  wolf-hunt,  tempted 
by  poetic  license,  have  exaggerated  the  details.  In- 
deed, the  exploit  has  been  told  and  retold  by  different 
writers  with  such  variations  that  there  has  often  been 
a  wide  departure  from  the  facts.  On  the  other  hand, 
instead  of  exaggerations,  there  have  been  some  at- 
tempts to  discredit  the  adventure.  We  have,  however, 
sufficient  evidence  for  the  stout-hearted  deed,  and  we 
know  that   Putnam   himself   used   to  tell  the  story. 


-<■■?■ 


H     5 


i  1 

< 

z 

< 

z 


1754]         The  Connecticut  Pioneer  15 

Judge  Samuel  Putnam,*  in  describing  a  visit  which  he 
once  made  to  the  hero,  relates  that  Putnam  took  him 
to  the  place  and  showed  him  how  he  followed  the  wolf 
into  the  den  and  shot  it.  Colonel  David  Humphreys, 
who  also  heard  Putnam's  own  account,  realised  the 
importance  of  giving  us  the  facts,  "  because  they  con- 
tain a  display  of  character  ;  and  because  they  have  been 
erroneously  repeated  in  several  European  publications, 
and  very  much  mutilated  in  the  History  of  Connecticut 
[satirical  history  by  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  published  in 
1 781],  a  work  as  replete  with  falsehood  as  destitute  of 
genius." 

The  wolf-hunt  has  been  often  used  as  a  subject  for 
pictures,  and  some  old  engravings  of  it  are  very  quaint. 
It  suggested  the  device  for  a  tavern  sign  when  Gideon 
Putnam,  nephew  of  Israel  Putnam,  built,  in  1802,  the 
first  hotel  at  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York.  This  old 
sign,  which  is  still  in  existence,  is  a  very  curious  re- 
presentation of  Putnam  being  pulled  out  of  the  den, 
dragging  the  wolf  after  him.  Relic  hunters  have  had 
peculiar  interest  in  the  exploit.  Many  years  ago  some 
of  them  exhibited  in  Boston  a  torch,  made  of  birch- 
bark,  which  attracted  much  attention  on  account  of  the 
claim  that  it  was  the  original  one  with  which  Putnam 
lighted  his  way  into  the  den.  Tradition  says  that  the 
musket  which  was  used  to  kill  the  wolf  was  carried 
by  the  hero  through  the  French  and  Indian  War,  but 
soon  afterwards  was  accidentally  lost  overboard  while 
he  was  crossing  a  river  in  a  boat. 

The  wolf  den  continues  to  be  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting spots  in  picturesque  Pomfret,  and  is  annually 
visited  by  many  patriot  pilgrims. 


*  Letter  to  Colonel  Perley  Putnam,  dated  July  16,  1834. 


1 6  Israel  Putnam  [1740-1754] 

Putnam  made  a  journey  to  his  old  home  in  Salem 
Village  in  the  latter  part  of  1743.  His  brother  David, 
now  thirty-six  years  old,  was  becoming  one  of  the  most 
influential  citizens  in  town,  parish,  and  military  affairs. 
He  had  won  considerable  reputation  as  a  dashing  cav- 
alry officer.  He  rode  the  "  best  horse  in  the  pro- 
vince," and  was  called  "  the  lion-hearted  Lieutenant 
of  the  King's  troops."  At  the  time  that  Israel  visited 
him,  David  was  planning  to  enlarge  the  homestead, 
and  the  two  brothers  must  have  often  talked  over  to- 
gether the  proposed  changes,  as  well  as  those  public 
matters  in  which  David  was  taking  an  active  part. 
And  Israel  had  much  to  tell  of  his  own  experiences  and 
successes  in  his  new  home.' 

Soon  after  his  return  to  Connecticut  we  find  Israel 
Putnam  of  practical  service  in  town  and  parish  affairs. 
He  applied  himself  also  as  industriously  as  ever  to  the 
development  of  his  farm.  The  thrifty  routine  of  his 
agricultural  life  at  Pomfret  continued  without  interrup- 
tion until  1755.  Then  began  an  important  period  of 
new  experiences. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  CAIJy  TO  ARMS 


1755 


SRAKIy  PUTNAM  was  thirty-seven 
years  old  when  the  disturbed  condition 
of  affairs  in  the  English  colonies 
reached  a  dangerous  climax.  The 
ambition  for  supremacy  in  America  had 
been  for  years  the  cause  of  turmoil  be- 
tween the  English  and  the  French,  but  it  had  compar- 
atively little  interest  for  the  New  England  farmers  until 
it  imperilled  their  homes.  Then  they  became  thoroughly 
aroused,  especially  on  account  of  the  threatening  dan- 
ger from  the  revengeful  Indians  whom  the  French  had 
been  enticing  into  their  own  service.  The  war,  which 
is  known  in  history  as  the  Seven  Years'  War,  was  the 
fourth  between  England  and  France.  The  American 
phase  of  the  conflict — commonly  called  the  French  and 
Indian  War  —  began  in  1755,  in  advance  of  the  formal 
declaration  of  war.  The  commander-in-chief  of  the 
campaign  was  General  Edward  Braddock.  Of  the  four 
expeditions  which  were  planned  by  the  British  and 
colonial  authorities,  one  was  against  Fort  Duquesne, 
another  against    the    French   in    Acadia,    the   third 

against  Fort  Niagara,  while  the  fourth — the  movement 

■ 

17 


1 8  Israel  Putnam 


[1755 


in  which  Putnam   bore   a   part — was   against   Crown 
Point. 

When  the  stirring  appeal  for  volunteers  was  made 
throughout  Connecticut,  as  elsewhere,  Israel  Putnam 
was  one  of  the  first  persons  in  his  colony  to  respond. 
Fifteen  years  had  now  passed  away  since  he  had  re- 
moved from  his  Massachusetts  home  to  the  tract  of  land 
which  he  had  bought  in  Connecticut,  years  which  had 
been  spent  so  assiduously  in  the  cultivation  of  the  new 
soil,  that  the  farm  was  yielding  as  good,  if  not  better, 
results  than  any  other  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  neigh- 
bours acknowledged  its  owner  to  be  "a  skilful  and 
indefatigable  manager."  A  further  evidence  of  his 
prosperity  was  the  new  and  comfortable  house  which  he 
had  built  nearly  a  fourth  of  a  mile  south-east  of  the  first 
one.  With  money  from  the  sale  of  the  surplusage  of  his 
farm  products,  he  was  able  to  furnish  this  more  ample 
home  for  his  family  with  some  articles  which  were 
considered  luxuries  in  those  days.  Putnam's  domestic 
life  was  a  happy  one.  His  wife,  Hannah,  had  shared 
sympathetically  with  him  in  the  experiences  of  the 
new  country,  and  both  of  them  enjoyed  the  household 
comforts  all  the  more  because  of  the  hardships  and  the 
necessary  privations  of  the  earlier  days  in  Connecticut. 
Putnam  was  also  bound  closely  to  his  home  by  his 
children.  His  son  Israel  was  now  fifteen  years  old. 
Daniel,*  two  years  younger,  was  born  March  10,  1742. 
There  were  four  little  daughters,  between  the  ages  of 


*  The  name  of  this  son,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  is 
usually  given  as  David,  by  confusion  with  a  child  who  was  born 
to  Putnam  in  1759,  after  tue  death  of  his  second  son,  and  who 
was  also  named  Daniel.  The  gravestone  in  the  cemetery  at 
Brooklyn,  Conn.,  has  the  name  Daniel,  instead  of  David,  in  the 
inscription  relating  to  the  second  son. 


1755]  The  Call  to  Arms  19 

eleven  and  two  years, — Hannah,  born  August  25, 
1744  ;  Elizabeth,  March  20,  1747;  Meliitable,  October 
21,  1749  ;  and  Mary,  May  10,  1753.  When  Putnam 
obeyed  the  call  to  arms  it  meant  leaving  a  family  be- 
hind him  which  demanded  in  many  special  ways  a 
father's  care  and  forethought.  There  were,  besides, 
the  manifold  matters  connected  with  the  farm,  but 
these  and  all  other  things  were  subordinate  to  the  im- 
perative need  of  men  to  defend  the  colonies  in  the  grave 
exigency. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1755,  Putnam  had  bidden  his 
family  good-by  and  was  on  the  march  towards  Albany 
in  the  band  of  volunteers,  his  wife  having  bravely 
taken  charge  of  the  farm,  with  the  help  of  the  two  boys, 
Israel  and  Daniel.  The  advance  of  the  Connecticut 
men  across  the  country  was  slow,  owing  to  the  natural 
impediments  of  the  rough  and  wooded  region.  When 
they  reached  Albany  they  encamped  just  outside  the 
town  upon  the  plains  where  the  forces  from  the  other 
colonies  were  also  assembling.  In  July,  the  provincial 
army  for  the  Crown  Point  enterprise  numbered  about 
three  thousand  men;  an  unsoldier-like  gathering  as  to 
outward  appearance,  for  it  was  composed  chiefly  of 
farmers  who  wore  their  ordinary  clothing,  and  few  of 
them  had  any  military  experience.  L,ike  most  of  the 
other  volunteers,  the  men  from  Connecticut  had  brought 
their  own  firelocks,  hatchets,  belts,  cartridge-boxes, 
and  blankets.  But  the  crude  army,  which  the  enemy 
considered  a  mere  "  mob  of  countrymen  "  that  could 
be  easily  routed,  contained  sterling  material. 

The  provincial  soldiers  were  joined  at  Albany  by  a 
band  of  Indian  allies,  whose  chief  was  the  "  brave  and 
sagacious"  Hendrick.  Putnam  himself  must  have 
witnessed  the  goodwill  which  these  Mohawks  showed 


20  Israel  Putnam  [i755 

towards  William  Johnson,  the  commander  of  the  Crown 
Point  expedition.  They  adorned  the  General's  face 
with  war-paint,  and  he  danced  the  war-dance,  we  are 
told,  and  then  with  his  sword  he  cut  the  first  slice 
from  the  ox  that  had  been  roasted  whole  for  their 
entertainment. 

In  midsummer  the  main  army  was  ordered  north- 
ward under  General  Phineas  Lyman  of  Connecticut; 
and  Putnam  was  one  of  the  soldiers  who  marched  the 
distance  of  nearly  forty  miles  along  the  bank  of  the 
Hudson  River  to  the  Great  Carrying  Place.  Here 
several  weeks  were  spent  by  the  troops  in  building  a 
fort  which  was  first  called  Fort  Lyman  —  a  name  that 
was  afterwards  changed  to  Fort  Edward  in  honour  of  the 
Duke  of  York.  On  the  21st  of  August,  General  John- 
son, who  was  still  at  Albany  for  the  purpose  of  forward- 
ing the  bateaux,  artillery,  and  provisions,  learned  from 
Mohawk  scouts  that  the  French  were  advancing  in 
overwhelming  numbers  to  defend  Crown  Point.  He 
immediately  called  a  council  of  war.  The  advice  was 
to  send  to  the  different  colonies  for  reinforcements.  In 
response  to  Johnson's  appeal,  a  special  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was  convened  by 
Governor  Fitch  on  the  27th  of  August  at  Hartford,  and 
it  was  resolved  that  the  colony  furnish,  in  addition  to 
the  thousand  volunteers  already  sent,  fifteen  hundred 
men  who  should  be  formed  into  two  regiments — known 
as  the  Third  and  Fourth — with  nine  companies  in  each 
regiment.  The  Assembly  proceeded  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers  and  selected  Israel  Putnam  for  second 
Lieutenant  of  the  Sixth  Company  in  the  Third  Regi- 
ment.* Putnam's  commission  did  not  reach  him  until 
after  the  battle  of  Lake  George,  which  took  place  on 

*  Public  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  vol.  x.,  p.  399. 


1755]  The  Call  to  Arms  21 

the  8th  of  September.  He  was,  therefore,  a  private  in 
that  encounter.*  The  bloody  battle,  so  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  colonial  wars,  was  fought  not  long 
after  the  provincial  troops  reached  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  George.  General  Johnson  had  joined 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  and  had  ordered  it,  on  the 
26th  of  August,  to  advance  from  the  Hudson  River 
across  the  country,  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles,  while 
a  detachment  of  five  hundred  men  remained  to  garrison 
the  fort.  The  way  through  the  forests  and  thick 
undergrowth  was  hewn  by  gangs  of  axemen,  and  the 
two  thousand  soldiers  moved  forward  towards  Lake 
George.  There  they  arrived  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  on  which  they  had  left  Fort  Lyman.  The 
camp  was  pitched  near  the  low  hill  where  Fort  George 
was  afterwards  built  ;  and  the  tired  men  looked  out 
over  the  placid  waters  of  the  lake,  beautiful  in  the  wild 
charm  of  the  encircli  ng  ridge  of  forest-topped  mountains. 
During  the  first  fortnight  nothing  alarming  hap- 
pened in  the  camp  at  Lake  George,  and  the  attention 
of  the  soldiers  was  occupied  a  part  of  the  time  in 
various  duties  ;  but  on  the  whole  little  was  done  in  fell- 
ing trees  or  preparing  for  defence  against  the  enemy, 
General  Johnson  himself  fearing  little  immediate  dan- 
ger. On  the  afternoon  of  the  first  Sunday,  Putnam 
was  among  the  men  who  heard  young  Chaplain  Newell 
expound  the  somewhat  untimely  text,  "  Love  your 
enemies."  A  week  later,  on  September  7th,  at  sunset 
of  a  beautiful  Sunday  and  soon  after  Chaplain  Will- 
iams had  finished  preaching,  there  was  an  alarm  in 
camp.  An  Indian  scout  had  arrived  and  reported 
traces  of  the  enemy  advancing  from  South  Bay  towards 

*  Some  writers  make  the  error  of  speaking  of  Putnam  as  an 
officer  instead  of  a  private  in  the  battle  of  Lake  George. 


22  Israel  Putnam  [i755 

Fort  Lyman.  Johnson  at  once  sent  a  mounted  mes- 
senger to  warn  the  commander  at  the  latter  place,  but 
expected  no  immediate  attack  upon  his  own  troops. 

Baron  Dieskau,  who  commanded  the  French  force, 
had  not  only  reached  Crown  Point  with  more  than 
thirty-five  hundred  men,  but  had  decided  upon  an  ag- 
gressive movement  from  that  stronghold.  An  English 
prisoner  had  deceived  him  into  believing  that  the  main 
body  of  Johnson's  army  had  returned  to  Albany. 
Therefore  Dieskau's  plan  was  to  surprise  the  garrison 
at  Fort  Lyman.  When  he  was  within  three  miles  of  the 
Hudson  Paver,  however,  he  learned  from  waggoners, 
who  had  deserted  the  English  camp  and  were  taken 
prisoners,  that  most  of  the  English  troops  were  at  the 
Lake.  This  caused  him  to  change  his  plan.  Besides, 
his  Indian  allies  had  already  refused  to  advance  farther 
towards  Fort  Lyman,  having  heard  of  cannon  there, 
but  they  were  willing  to  go  with  him  to  Lake  George. 
Moreover,  the  messenger,  whom  Johnson  had  dis- 
patched to  warn  the  fort,  had  been  shot  by  Indians 
who  were  with  the  French,  and  the  letter  which  he  was 
carrying  had  been  discovered. 

Meantime,  the  English  at  Lake  George  had  been 
warned  again  that  the  enemy  were  in  the  vicinity,  this 
time  by  some  of  the  mutinous  drivers  who  had  returned 
to  the  camp  after  being  attacked  by  the  French.  A 
council  of  war,  which  Johnson  had  called  in  the  morning 
of  September  8th,  decided  to  send  out  a  thousand  men 
under  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams.  This  detachment 
was  accompanied  by  Hendrick,  the  Mohawk  chief,  with 
his  two  hundred  warriors.  The  soldiers — one  of  them 
was  Putnam — who  marched  out  of  camp  that  Monday 
morning,  a  little  after  eight  o'clock,  were  soon  to  be  en- 
gaged in  a  bloody  and  desperate  encounter. 


1755]  The  Call  to  Arms  23 

When  Dieskau  was  three  miles  from  the  lake,  he 
was  informed  by  a  prisoner  whom  his  scouts  had  just 
taken,  that  the  English  were  coming.  He  immediately 
prepared  to  meet  them.  Keeping  his  regulars  in  the 
road,  he  ordered  the  Canadians  and  Indians  to  occupy 
positions  in  the  front,  where,  by  hiding  among  the 
thickets  and  rocks  and  in  the  forest  along  the  slopes  of 
the  mountain,  they  would  form  an  ambush,  horse-shoe 
in  shape.  As  the  English  approached,  Dieskau's 
stratagem  was  not  altogether  successful,  for  some  of  his 
Indians,  either  by' accident  or  design,  gave  the  alarm 
to  the  Mohawks  who  were  with  Colonel  Williams. 
But  before  the  English  could  take  advantage  of  the 
warning  from  a  gun  which  was  discharged  from  the 
bushes,  a  murderous  fire  poured  out  upon  them  from 
the  thickets  on  the  left.  Many  men  fell,  and  the  head 
of  the  column,  as  Dieskau  himself  said,  "  was  doubled 
up  like  a  pack  of  cards."  From  the  slopes  of  the  hill 
on  the  right  came  also  a  deadly  fire  upon  the  English 
ranks.  They  recoiled  in  utter  confusion  under  this 
sudden  attack.  The  yelling  enemy  approached  in  ter- 
rific onrush.  Colonel  Williams  and  old  Hendrick 
were  among  the  many  who  fell  dead.  The  regiment 
would  have  been  annihilated,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
intrepid  conduct  of  Putnam  and  other  soldiers  who  sup- 
ported Lieutenant-Colonel  Nathan  Whiting,  the  gal- 
lant Connecticut  officer,  upon  whom  now,  after  the 
death  of  Colonel  Williams,  devolved  the  command  of 
the  whole.  The  men,  who  rallied  under  Whiting's 
leadership  and  covered  the  retreat  of  the  broken 
column,  fought  from  behind  trees  like  Indians,  and 
after  firing,  fell  back  by  turns.  With  the  assistance 
of  some  of  the  Mohawks,  as  well  as  a  detachment 
which  Johnson  sent,  they  made,  in  the  words  of  Seth 


24  Israel  Putnam  [i755 

Pomeroy  (Putnam's  comrade),  "  a  very  handsome  re- 
treat, and  so  continued  till  they  came  within  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  our  camp.  This  was  the 
last  fire  our  men  gave  our  enemies,  which  killed  great 
numbers  of  them;  they  were  seen  to  drop  as  pigeons." 

After  Dieskau  had  halted  within  a  mile  of  the  Eng- 
lish camp,  he  collected  his  scattered  troops  and  pre- 
pared to  make  the  final  assault.  At  this  time  Johnson's 
men  were  hastily  throwing  up  a  barricade  of  waggons, 
bateaux,  trunks  of  trees,  and  every  available  material. 
Cannon  were  being  planted  and  guards  for  the  flanks 
of  the  camp  detailed.  The  soldiers  were  taking  their 
position  behind  the  crude  fortification  as  fast  as  any 
part  of  it  offered  them  protection.  Some  of  the  men 
were  standing  up  behind  the  waggons,  and  others  were 
lying  flat  behind  the  logs  and  boats.  On  the  left  of  the 
line  towards  the  hill  were  the  Connecticut  troops;  Put- 
nam himself  had  rejoined  them,  for  the  soldiers  of  the 
detachment,  who  were  not  disabled  in  the  "  bloody 
morning  scout,"  were  ordered  to  take  part  in  this 
second  stage  of  the  battle. 

Soon  the  enemy  appeared  in  sight.  The  regulars 
approached  in  the  road  ;  while  along  the  front  rose 
fearful  yells  and  war-whoops,  and,  as  Pomeroy  says, 
1 '  the  Canadians  and  Indians,  helter-skelter,  the  woods 
full  of  them,  came  running  with  undaunted  courage 
right  down  the  hill  upon  us,  expecting  to  make  us 
flee."  A  furious  engagement  followed.  Dieskau  first 
attacked  the  English  left  and  centre.  Putnam  was  in 
the  hottest  part  of  the  fight.  Pomeroy,  who  was  not 
far  from  him,  afterwards  wrote,  "  perhaps  the  hail- 
stones from  heaven  were  never  much  thicker  than  their 
bullets  came;  but,  blessed  be  God!  that  did  not  in  the 
least  daunt  or  disturb  us. ' '    From  the  beginning  of  the 


1755]  The  Call  to  Arms  25 

assault,  the  French  lost  control  of  their  Indian  allies, 
who  scattered  everywhere,  raising  the  war-whoop  and 
fighting,  according  to  their  own  custom,  from  behind 
trees.  When  Dieskau  found  that  he  could  make  no  im- 
pression upon  the  English  left  and  centre,  he  attempted 
to  force  their  right,  but  failed  there  also.  At  length 
he  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  Meanwhile,  on 
the  English  side,  Johnson  had  been  shot  in  the  thigh, 
and  L,yman,  who  had  taken  the  command,  was  bravely 
continuing  the  battle  and  making  a  firm  resistance. 
At  last,  towards  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the 
enemy  gave  way,  and  in  the  final  rout  the  English 
leaped  over  the  barricade  and  rushed  forward,  shouting, 
brandishing  their  hatchets,  and  using  the  butts  of  their 
guns  for  clubs  in  the  hand-to-hand  encounter.  The 
French  fled  in  great  confusion.  Nearly  all  of  their 
officers  and  nearly  half  of  their  regular  troops  had  been 
killed  or  wounded.  Their  Canadian  and  Indian  allies 
had  suffered  less  disastrously,  having  kept  themselves 
more  under  cover. 

The  English  lost  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  men, 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  The  provincial  soldiers, 
according  to  contemporary  testimony,  "  in  the  morn- 
ing fought  like  good  boys,  about  noon  like  men,  and  in 
the  afternoon  like  devils."  Many  of  them  spent  the 
following  night  and  the  next  few  days  in  picking  up 
the  wounded  and  in  burying  the  dead.  For  this  pur- 
pose, which  he  describes  asa  "  melancholy  piece  of 
business,"  Pomeroy  commanded  four  hundred  men, 
one  of  whom  appears  to  have  been  Putnam. 

Putnam,  like  many  another  provincial,  was  eager  for 
Johnson  to  follow  up  the  victory  and  pursue  the  French ; 
but,  instead  of  doing  so,  that  General  set  the  soldiers  to 
work  in  building  a  breastwork  and  fort  near  the  camp, 


26  Israel  Putnam  [i755 

for,  said  he,  "  we  may  expect  very  shortly  a  more  for- 
midable attack."  The  French,  however,  retired  to 
Ticonderoga,  where,  within  two  weeks,  they  strongly 
fortified  themselves. 

Soon  after  the  battle  the  additional  troops  from  the 
colonies  began  to  arrive  at  the  lake,  and  among  them 
were  the  two  regiments  from  Connecticut,  in  one  of 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  Putnam  had  been  appointed  a 
second  Lieutenant.  There  came  also  into  camp  in  Sep- 
tember a  partisan  chief,  whom  Putnam  had  already 
seen  at  Albany.  This  was  Robert  Rogers,  who,  with 
a  hundred  men,  had  escorted  the  provision  waggons  in 
August  from  the  latter  place  to  the  spot  where  Fort 
Lyman  was  built.  Within  a  few  days  after  Rogers 
arrived  at  Lake  George,  Johnson,  who  was  still  appre- 
hensive of  another  aggressive  movement  of  the  French, 
ordered  him  to  reconnoitre  Crown  Point.  This  was 
the  first  of  several  expeditions,  after  the  battle,  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  enemy's  strongholds,  and  in  a  number 
of  these  attempts  Putnam  was  one  of  the  men  who  ac- 
companied Rogers.  There  was  something  about  the 
Connecticut  farmer-soldier  that  led  the  Captain  of  the 
rangers  to  choose  him  as  a  suitable  companion  in 
the  hazardous  undertakings,  and  for  this  important 
and  peculiar  service  Putnam  showed  at  once  a  special 
aptitude. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   RANGER 
1755-1756 

T  was  as  one  of  Rogers's  Rangers  that 
Putnam  had  special  opportunities  for 
winning  distinction  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  It  had  become  increas- 
ingly apparent  that  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances, in  the  region  thickly 
wooded  and  infested  with  Indians  lying  in  ambush,  the 
ordinary  soldiers  were  appallingly  at  disadvantage. 
There  were  needed,  for  special  duties,  men  capable  of 
understanding  Indian  methods  of  warfare,  who  could 
scour  the  forests  and  make  daring  reconnoissances. 
Such  men  should  be  of  vigorous  and  strong  constitu- 
tion. They  should  be  able  to  make  long  marches,  en- 
dure the  hardships  of  a  woodsman's  life,  and  ever  be 
ready  to  outwit  the  enemy.  The  provincial  rangers 
were  selected  to  serve  in  a  corps,  independent  of  the 
main  army.  Besides  their  duties  of  venturing  near  the 
hostile  strongholds,  and  surprising  straggling  parties 
and  taking  prisoners,  they  were,  "  from  time  to  time," 
according  to  their  instructions, 

"to  use  their  best  endeavours  to  distress  the  French  and  their 
allies,  by  sacking,  burning,  and  destroying  their  houses,  barns, 

27 


28  Israel  Putnam  [i755- 

barracks,  canoes,  battoes,  etc.,  and  by  killing  their  cattle  of 
every  kind  ;  and  at  all  times  to  endeavour  to  way-lay,  attack 
and  destroy  their  convoys  of  provisions  by  land  and  water,  in 
any  part  of  the  country  where  they  could  find  them." 

The  appointment  of  Robert  Rogers  of  New  Hampshire 
as  the  commander  of  this  band  of  men  was  wise,  for  he 
was  experienced  in  woodcraft  ;  he  had  the  qualifications 
for  a  successful  partisan  officer, — robustness,  energy,  sa- 
gacity, tenacity,  promptness,  and  caution.  This  leader 
and  his  valued  associates,  chief  among  whom  were  Is- 
rael Putnam  and  John  Stark,  became,  as  the  historian 
Francis  Parkman  says,  "  famous  throughout  America  ; 
and  though  it  was  the  fashion  of  the  day  to  sneer  at  the 
efforts  of  provincial  troops,  the  name  of  Rogers's 
Rangers  was  never  mentioned  but  with  honour." 

The  account  of  the  ranging  service  which  Rogers 
gives  in  his  journal  *  is  written  in  a  simple,  direct  way, 
and  does  not  appear  to  be  exaggerated.    The  official  f 


*  This  work  was  published  in  London,  in  1765,  "for  the 
author  "  during  the  visit  of  Rogers  to  England,  after  he  had 
served  through  the  French  and  Indian  War  and  Pontiac's  War. 
It  had  this  title,  Journals  of  Major  Robert  Rogers,  containing 
an  account  of  the  several  excursions  he  made  under  the  gen- 
erals who  commanded  during  the  late  war.  Sold  by  J.  Millan, 
Bookseller,  Whitehall,  1765.  It  was  republished  in  Dublin,  in 
1769,  by  R.  Acheson.  In  1831,  it  appeared  in  a  condensed  form 
in  a  book  called  Reminiscences  of  the  French  War,  which  was 
edited  by  Caleb  Stark,  Jr.,  and  published  by  Luther  Roby,  at 
Concord,  N.  H.  It  may  also  be  found  in  an  abridged  form  in 
Caleb  Stark's  Memoir  of  John  Stark,  Concord,  N.  H.,  i860. 
The  best  edition  is  that  by  Franklin  B.  Hough,  published  at 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  1883. 

f  Johnson  Manuscripts  in  the  State  Library  at  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Several  of  these  original  reports  are  printed  in  the  fourth  volume 
of  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York. 


1756]  The  Ranger  29 

reports,  also,  which  Rogers,  Putnam,  and  other  pro- 
vincial officers  made  to  General  Johnson  are  invaluable 
as  original  sources  of  information  in  regard  to  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  rangers  whose  "  perfect  mode  of  attack 
and  defence  ' '  enabled  ' '  a  hundred  of  them  to  do  more 
service  than  thousands  of  the  British  regulars." 

As  for  their  method  of  scouting  and  fighting,  there 
was  no  invariable  rule  among  the  rangers.  Every  one 
was  governed  by  circumstances,  and  that  man  proved 
himself  best  qualified  for  this  special  service  who  was 
instinctively  clever  and  resourceful  enough  for  any 
emergency.  On  one  occasion,  Rogers  wrote  out  a  set  of 
general  rules  for  the  instruction  of  some  soldiers  who 
were  sent  to  him  to  be  trained  as  rangers,  but  after  he 
had  described  in  considerable  detail  that  which  his  own 
experience  taught  him  was  ordinarily  necessary,  he 
added  that  there  were  a  thousand  occurrences  and  cir- 
cumstances which  might  happen  and  make  it  impera- 
tive to  put  other  arts  and  stratagems  in  practice;  "  in 
which  cases,"  said  he,  "  every  man's  reason  and  judg- 
ment must  be  his  guide,  according  to  the  particular 
situation  and  nature  of  things  ;  and  that  he  may  do 
this  to  advantage,  he  should  keep  in  mind  a  maxim 
never  to  be  departed  from  by  a  commander,  viz.  :  to 
preserve  a  firmness  and  presence  of  mind  on  every 
occasion. ' ' 

Putnam  was  not  only  associated  with  Rogers  in  the 
ranging  service,  but  also  "  became  intimately  ac- 
quainted "  with  him,  for  they  had  much  in  common  in 
their  love  of  adventure,  capacity  for  physical  endur- 
ance, and  instinctive  bravery.  From  a  description  by 
his  grandson,  Judge  Judah  Dana,  we  learn  that  Put- 
nam was  : 

"in  his  person,  for  height,  about  the  middle  size,  very  erect, 
thickset,  muscular,  and  firm  in  every  part.     His  countenance 


30  Israel  Putnam  [1755- 

was  open,  strong,  and  animated  ;  the  features  of  his  face  large, 
well-proportioned  to  each  other  and  to  his  whole  frame ;  his 
teeth  fair  and  sound  till  death.  His  organs  and  senses  were  all 
exactly  fitted  for  a  warrior ;  he  heard  quickly,  saw  to  an 
immense  distance,  and  though  he  sometimes  stammered  in 
conversation,  his  voice  was  remarkably  heavy,  strong,  and 
commanding." 

On  account  of  his  qualifications,  Putnam  was  not  only 
selected  as  one  of  Rogers's  men,  but  was  assigned  to 
special  duties  in  the  ranging  service,  with  the  rank 
of  Captain.  The  adventurous  undertakings  which  he 
shared  at  this  period  extended  late  into  the  autumn  of 
1755,  while  the  main  army  remained  in  camp  at  Lake 
George. 

With  forty  or  fifty  men  in  five  boats,  Rogers  and 
Putnam  left  camp  in  the  evening  of  the  7th  day  of  Oc- 
tober, and  in  advancing  on  the  lake  passed  by  three  or 
four  fires  on  the  shore.  When  they  had  gone  a  dis- 
tance of  sixteen  miles,  they  missed  one  bateau  and  un- 
fortunately could  not  find  it  on  account  of  the  darkness. 
Continuing  the  journey,  they  landed  at  daybreak  on 
the  east  side  of  the  lake,  and  there,  within  twelve  miles 
of  the  Carrying  Place  to  Ticonderoga,  lay  concealed  all 
day  with  their  men.  In  the  evening  the  rangers  em- 
barked again  and  proceeded  on  their  way  ;  but,  seeing 
a  fire  on  an  island,  they  put  to  land,  and  sent  out  men 
in  a  birch  canoe  to  reconnoitre.  The  enemy  on  the 
island,  having  discovered  the  canoe,  extinguished  their 
fire  and  apparently  retreated  ;  after  which  the  rangers 
went  forward  five  miles  nearer  the  French  stronghold 
and  landed  at  a  point  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake. 
From  that  place,  on  the  morning  of  October  9th, 
Rogers  sent  "  Capt.  Putnam  with  one  man  and  Capt. 
Hunt  with  three  men  more  in  order  to  go  to  the  Carry- 


1756]  The  Ranger  31 

ing  Place  and  Ticonderoga,  and  make  discoveries  there 
and  return  to  the  party." 

In  the  evening,  Captain  Hunt,  who  had  accompanied 
Putnam  within  two  miles  of  the  Carrying  Place,  re- 
turned to  report  that  there  were  large  numbers  of  the 
enemy  in  that  vicinity  on  both  sides  of  the  lake;  and 
that  night,  Rogers  sent  Ensign  Timothy  Putnam  and 
three  men  in  a  birch  canoe  to  make  such  additional 
discoveries  as  they  could  in  the  same  locality.  Mean- 
while, Israel  Putnam,  with  his  companion,  was  spend- 
ing the  night  on  a  mountain,  near  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
watching  the  fires  of  French  and  Indians,  and  trying  to 
obtain  all  the  information  he  could  at  that  distance,  for 
he  had  decided  that  it  was  not  safe  to  proceed  to  Ticon- 
deroga. Fortunately,  we  have  his  own  account  of  his 
experiences  from  the  time  he  left  Rogers  until  he  re- 
turned to  him.     It  is  as  follows  : 

4 'REPORT  OF  CAPT.  PUTNAM 

"SENT  BY  CAPT.   RODGERS  AS  A  SPY  TO  TICONDEROGA 

"  Oct1;  9th,  1755.  Then  left  Cap*  Rogers  upon  a  neck  of  Land 
upon  the  west  side  of  Lake  George  and  Set  out  towards  Tycon- 
dorogue  to  see  what  Discoveries  we  Could  make  and  after  we 
had  march"?  about  7  or  8  miles  we  came  upon  a  Large  Mountain 
near  the  Heither  end  of  the  narrows,  and  when  we  came  there 
we  Could  make  no  Discovery  at  all,  but  after  sometime  wee 
espyed  three  Barke  Cannoes  Drew  upon  the  Shore  upon  a  point 
of  Land  that  Ran  into  the  Lake,  and  then  wee  espyed  two 
Indians  Comeing  out  of  the  Bushes  toward  the  Cannoes,  after 
water,  and  after  sometime  we  espyed  several  french  and  Indians 
on  the  East  side  of  the  Lake  and  soon  after  that  we  heard  the 
noise  of  Cutting,  hewing,  adsing,  and  sawing,  as  tho  there  was 
a  Large  Company  of  men  at  work,  and  by  their  talking  and 
Laughing  their  was  amongst  them,  and  then  we  Espyed  about 
thirty  Indians  Came  out  of  the  Bushes  on  the  west  side  of  the 


32  Israel  Putnam  [i755- 

Lake  on  the  point  within  a  large  musket  shot  of  us,  and  played 
a  spell  on  the  Beach,  and  Returned  into  the  Bush,  and  from  the 
point  Eastward,  their  was  almost  a  Continual  fireing  and  bark- 
ing of  Doggs  and  talking  so  we  tho*  it  was  not  safe  to  proceed 
toTycondarogue  and  so  Concluded  to  tarry  there  all  knight  and 
see  what  further  Discoveries  wee  Could  make  by  the  fires  in  the 
knight,  and  just  at  the  Dusk  of  the  evening  their  Came  four 
Cannoes  from  the  Bast  and  went  to  the  west  side  of  the  Lake 
and  landed  on  the  point  where  the  others  were  incamped,  and 
Drew  up  their  Cannoes  on  ye  Shore  and  by  this  time  wee  began 
to  Discover  the  fires  on  the  point  and  on  the  East  side  of  the 
Lake,  but  Could  not  Discover  what  number  their  was,  because 
the  Bushes  were  so  thick  by  the  Lake  but  as  near  as  we  Could 
best  Judge  we  tho*  there  was  six  or  seven  hundred  by  the  fires 
and  Guards  set  on  both  sides  the  Lake  and  about  Day  Brake, 
they  mustered  their  men  to  work  and  then  wee  Left  the  mount- 
ain and  Returned  to  Cap4  Rogers  on  the  point  and  when  we 
Came  within  sixty  or  seventy  Rods  of  the  point  we  Espyed 
thirteen  Indians  pass  by  within  ten  Rods  of  us,  towards  the 
point  where  we  left  Cap*  Rogers,  and  after  they  had  passed  by 
us,  we  Came  to  the  point  where  we  left  Cap1  Rogers,  and  found 
all  well  this  is  the  Chef  of  the  Discovery  and  best  account  that 
I  am  able  to  give. 

"Israel  Putnam 
"To  Cap*  Rodgers. 

"The  Report  of  Captain  Putnen. 
(Endorsed)      "  Cap*  Pitmans  Report 

who  was  sent  by  Cap4 

Rodgers  as  a  Spy  to 

Tiondorogo 

delivd  12  Octr." 

Before  Putnam  returned  to  the  place  where  the 
rangers  were  concealed,  Rogers  and  his  men  had  seen 
some  of  the  enemy  not  far  away.  Just  after  the  senti- 
nels and  scouts  reported  that  they  had  overheard  hostile 
voices,  "  Capt.  Putnam  instantly  came  back,"  says 
Rogers,  "  with  the  account  that  the  Indians  were  on 
our  backs. ' '     As  the  savage  force  seemed  too  strong  to 


1756]  The  Ranger  33 

be  withstood,  the  rangers  hastily  entered  their  boats 
and  started  back  towards  the  main  encampment.  After 
going  fifteen  miles,  they  lodged  on  an  island,  and  on 
the  following  day,  October  nth,  arrived  where  the 
army  was  stationed. 

But  Rogers  and  several  of  his  best  men  did  not  re- 
main long  in  camp.  It  was  only  two  days  after  the 
return  of  the  scouting  party,  that  General  Johnson, 
in  writing  to  Sir  Charles  Hardy,  mentioned  that  the 
chief  ranger  purposed  to  set  off  at  once  "  with  two  or 
more  picked  men,  take  a  review,  if  he  can,  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  proceed  to  Crown  Point  for  a  prisoner." 
One  of  the  ' '  picked  men  ' '  to  whom  Johnson  alluded 
was  Putnam,  and  so  the  expedition  has  special  interest 
for  us.  It  proved  to  be  the  most  dangerous  undertak- 
ing in  which  he  had  yet  shared  as  a  scout.  Rogers 
drew  up  an  official  report  of  it  which  Putnam  also 
signed.  In  quoting  this  document,  it  seems  well,  for 
the  sake  of  greater  clearness,  to  change  somewhat  the 
orthography,  and  to  adopt  punctuation  and  division 
into  sentences  and  paragraphs: 

"REPORT  OF  CAPT.  ROGERS  AND  CO.'S  SCOUTS 

11  Ou  the  14th  day  of  October,  1755,  I  embarked  in  a  birch 
canoe  at  the  camps  on  the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  with  four 
men  beside  myself,  and  sailed  twenty-five  miles,  and  landed  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake.  Then  travelled  by  land,  and  on  the 
18th  day  I  arrived  on  the  mountains  on  the  west  side  of  Crown 
Point,  where  I  lay  that  night  and  all  the  next  day,  and  observed 
the  enemy's  motions  there,  and  about  Crown  Point.  Observed 
Ambussers  built  upon  the  mount,  about  thirty  rods  to  the  south- 
west of  Crown  Point  fort.  In  the  evening  went  down  to  the 
houses  that  were  built  upon  the  lake,  to  the  south  of  Crown 
Point,  and  went  into  a  barn  that  was  well  filled  with  wheat. 
Left  three  men  and  proceeded  with  one  man  to  make  further 
3 


34  Israel  Putnam  [I755- 

dicoveries  at  the  fort.  Found  a  good  place  to  ambush  within 
sixty  rods  of  the  fort,  and  immediately  went  back  and  took  our 
partners,  and  ambushed  at  the  proper  place  we  had  found." 

At  this  point  in  the  official  report,  the  facts  which 
Rogers  has  just  stated  need  to  be  supplemented  by  the 
account  of  the  same  expedition  which  he  gives  in  his 
journal.  From  the  latter  document  we  learn  the  seri- 
ous predicament  in  which  the  members  of  the  scouting- 
party  found  themselves  next  morning  : 

"  My  men  lay  concealed  in  a  thicket  of  willows,"  says  Rogers 
in  his  journal,  "  while  I  crept  something  nearer,  to  a  large  pine 
log,  where  I  concealed  myself  by  holding  bushes  in  my  hand. 
Soon  after  sun-rise  the  soldiers  issued  out  in  such  numbers,  that 
my  men  and  I  could  not  possibly  join  each  other  without  a 
discovery." 

For  several  hours  that  forenoon  the  rangers  con- 
tinued in  their  plight,  as  we  find  in  taking  up  the 
official  account  again  : 

"  There  we  lay  till  about  ten  o'clock.  Observed  several 
canoes  passing  up  and  down  the  lake,  and  sundry  men  that  went 
out  to  work  about  their  secular  affairs,  and  judged  the  whole 
that  was  in  the  fort  to  be  about  five  hundred." 

The  way  in  which  Rogers  finally  extricated  himself 
and  his  men  is  described  both  in  his  journal  and  in  the 
report.     In  the  former  he  says  : 

'.*  About  10  o'clock  a  single  man  marched  out  directly  towards 
our  ambush.  When  I  perceived  him  within  ten  yards  of  me,  I 
sprung  over  the  log,  and  met  him,  and  offered  him  quarters, 
which  he  refused,  and  made  a  pass  at  me  with  a  dirk,  which  I 
avoided,  and  presented  my  fusee  to  his  breast  ;  but  notwith- 
standing, he  still  pushed  on  with  resolution,  and  obliged  me  to 
dispatch  him.  This  gave  an  alarm  to  the  enemy,  and  made  it 
necessary  for  us  to  hasten  to  the  mountain." 


1756]  The  Ranger  35 

But  Rogers  does  not  mention  in  his  journal  the 
timely  assistance  which  he  received  from  one  of  his 
men  in  his  encounter  with  the  enemy  who  approached 
him.  This  additional  information  is  contained  in  the 
official  report,  which  gives  an  account  of  the  same  in- 
cident in  these  words : 

"At  length,  a  Frenchman  came  out  of  the  fort  towards  us, 
without  his  gun,  and  came  within  fifteen  rods  of  where  we  lay. 
Then  I  with  another  man  ran  up  to  him  in  order  to  capture  him, 
but  he  refused  to  take  quarters, — so  we  killed  him,  and  took  off 
his  scalp,  in  plain  sight  of  the  fort, — then  ran  and  in  plain  view 
about  twenty  rods  and  made  our  escape." 

The  man  who  came  to  the  assistance  of  Rogers  was 
Putnam,  according  to  the  following  version  from 
Humphreys  in  his  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Israel  Putnam: 

"  Captain  Rogers,  being  at  a  little  distance  from  Captain  Put- 
nam, fortuitously  met  a  stout  Frenchman,  who  instantly  seized 
his  fusee  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  attempted  to  stab 
him,  while  he  called  to  an  adjacent  guard  for  assistance.  The 
guard  answered.  Putnam,  perceiving  the  imminent  danger  of 
his  friend,  and  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  or  further  alarm 
given  by  firing,  ran  rapidly  to  them,  while  they  were  yet  strug- 
gling, and  with  the  butt-end  of  his  piece  laid  the  Frenchman 
dead  at  his  feet.  The  partisans,  to  elude  pursuit,  precipitated 
their  flight,  joined  the  party,  and  returned  without  loss  to  the 
encampment." 

Why  did  Rogers  pass  over  in  silence  in  his  journal 
the  timely  help  which  Putnam  gave  him  on  this  occa- 
sion ?  Jealousy  in  after  years,  when  that  writing  was 
published  (strange  that  Rogers  should  ever  have  had 
any  such  feeling  toward  the  associate  who  saved  his 
life!)  seems  to  have  been  the  reason  for  the  omission. 

The  account  of  the  expedition,  from  the  time  that  the 
rangers  escaped  from  their  dangerous  position  near  the 


36  Israel  Putnam  [i755r 

French  fort  until  they  returned  to  camp,  is  given  in  the 
following  paragraph,  with  which  the  official  report 
closes  : 

"  The  same  night  we  came  right  west  of  Ticonderoga,  about 
three  miles,  and  upon  a  mountain  in  plain  sight  of  their  fort, 
and  saw  large  encampments  around  it,  and  heard  a  vast  number 
of  small  arms  fired.  Judged  there  to  be  two  thousand  men  at 
Ticonderoga.  On  the  21st  day,  got  to  our  canoes  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  found  all  safe.  About  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  arrived  all  well  at  our  encampments  from 
whence  we  had  set  out." 

A  week  after  his  return  from  Crown  Point,  with  the 
four  men  who  accompanied  him,  Rogers  was  ordered 
to  scout  again  in  the  vicinity  of  the  enemy's  advanced 
guard.  He  had  found  Putnam  of  such  valued  service 
that  he  selected  him  again  as  one  of  his  companions. 
The  party  on  this  occasion  consisted  of  "  thirty  men, 
in  four  battoes  mounted  with  two  wall-pieces  each." 
The  earliest  account  of  this  expedition  is  the  one  ad- 
dressed to  General  Johnson.  Like  the  report  of  the 
undertaking  just  preceding,  it  was  written  by  Rogers 
in  the  first  person.  It  was  signed  by  two  scouts  be- 
sides himself.  They  were  Israel  Putnam  and  Noah 
Grant.  The  experiences  of  the  scouting-party  were 
these  : 

"  Pursuant  to  your  orders  of  the  29th  of  October  last,  I  set  off 
with  the  party  to  me  ordered,  and  went  down  the  lake,  and  on 
the  31st  made  a  discovery  of  a  number  of  fires  by  night,  situated 
on  a  point  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake,  upon  which  we 
landed,  and  secured  our  bateaux,  upon  the  same  side  of  the 
lake,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  from  their  encampment. 
Next  morning  sent  out  spies  for  further  discovery." 

The  "  spies  "  were  Putnam,  Fletcher,  and  Robert 
Durkee.     The  report  continues  ; 


1756]  The  Ranger  37 

"  In  the  evening  Captain  Fletcher,  one  of  the  spies,  returned, 
leaving  two  of  the  spies  there,  and  made  a  report  that  there 
were  four  tents,  and  sundry  small  fires  on  the  point,  and  upon 
that,  after  consultation,  it  was  concluded  advisable  to  acquaint 
your  Honour  [William  Johnson]  of  our  discovery,  and  reinforce 
us  if  you  think  it  advisable  in  order  to  proceed  further,  and 
make  a  push  upon  our  enemy.  Accordingly,  Capt.  Fletcher 
was  dispatched  to  you  with  six  men  in  the  bateau,  and  six  being 
returned  as  invalids — leaving  me  with  nineteen  men  only." 

After  he  had  sent  the  detachment  back  to  General 
Johnson,  Rogers,  "  being  uneasy  with  the  report "  of 
Fletcher  in  regard  to  the  enemy's  position,  made  re- 
connoissance  in  person  in  a  bateau,  but  made  "  no 
further  discovery."  On  rejoining  his  men,  he  found 
that  Putnam  and  his  companion  had  not  yet  returned. 

Putnam  and  Durkee  were  having  a  dangerous  experi- 
ence at  "  The  Ovens."  The  enemy's  fires,  instead  of 
being  placed,  according  to  the  English  custom,  round 
the  camp,  were  grouped  in  the  centre  of  it  ;  their  men 
were  stationed  circularly,  and  the  sentinels  posted  still 
farther  in  the  surrounding  darkness.  Unaware  of  this 
arrangement,  the  two  scouts  crept  upon  their  hands 
and  knees  towards  the  camp,  expecting  to  see  the 
sentinels  within  the  circle  of  fires,  but  suddenly  found 
themselves  inside  the  hostile  lines.  The  guards  dis- 
covered the  men  and  fired  at  them.  In  their  flight  in 
the  darkness,  Putnam  soon  stumbled  into  a  clay-pit. 
His  companion,  although  shot  in  the  thigh,  followed 
not  far  behind,  and  he,  too,  fell  into  the  pit.  Putnam, 
supposing  his  pursuer  to  be  one  of  the  enemy,  was 
about  to  strike  him  with  his  hatchet,  but  at  that  mo- 
ment recognised  the  voice  of  Durkee,  who  inquired 
whether  he  had  escaped  uninjured.  They  leaped  out 
of  the  pit  together,  and,  although  again  fired  upon, 
reached  a  ledge  not  far  distant. 


38  Israel  Putnam  [i755- 

"  There  they  betook  themselves  to  a  large  log,"  says  Hum- 
phreys, "  by  the  side  of  which  they  lodged  the  remainder  of  the 
night.  Before  they  lay  down,  Captain  Putnam  said  he  had  a 
little  rum  in  his  canteen,  which  could  never  be  more  acceptable 
or  necessary ;  but  on  examining  the  canteen,  which  hung 
under  his  arm,  he  found  the  enemy  had  pierced  it  with  their 
balls,  and  that  there  was  not  a  drop  of  liquor  left.  The  next 
day  he  found  fourteen  bullet-holes  in  his  blanket."  * 

Returning  now  to  the  report,  and  continuing  it  from 
trie  point  where  we  left  off,  we  find  a  reference  in  the 
official  account  to  the  clay-pit  incident  : 

u  The  next  morning  about  ten  o'clock  Capt.  Putnam  returned 
and  the  spy  Durkee  with  him,  who  gave  much  the  same  account 
as  Fletcher,  saving  that  the  enemy's  sentries  were  set  twenty 
rods  from  their  fire,  and  that  for  a  more  critical  examination 
of  the  enemy's  proceedings  he  went  forward  till  he  came  so 
nigh  them  that  he  was  fired  upon  by  one  of  the  sentries  within 
a  rod  of  them.  But,  unfortunately,  upon  preparing  to  fire  upon 
him,  fell  into  a  clay-pit  and  wet  his  gun.  Then  made  the  best 
retreat  he  was  able ;  hearing  the  enemy  close  to  their  heels, 
they  made  a  tack  and  luckily  escaped  safe  to  our  party." 

The  enemy,  in  pursuing  the  two  scouts,  found  out 
the  hiding-place  of  all  the  rangers,  but  not  until  Put- 

*  Humphreys  and  other  writers  mistake  the  date  of  this  ad- 
venture, and  give  it  as  1756,  instead  of  1755. 

The  statement  in  regard  to  "fourteen  bullet  holes"  in  the 
blanket  has  sometimes  been  exaggerated  into  the  assertion  that 
Putnam  was  hit  by  the  same  number  of  separate  bullets.  In 
criticism  of  such  versions,  Fellows,  in  his  Veil  Removed, 
wrote  :  "His  (Putnam's)  blanket  was  of  course  rolled  up  and 
slung  upon  his  back,  and  therefore  one  ball  might  have  perfor- 
ated it  in  as  many  places  as  stated  and  at  the  same  time  passed 
through  his  canteen." 

Cutter,  in  his  Life  of  Israel  Putnam,  says:  "Whether  all 
this  boring  was  the  work  of  one  leaden  messenger  from  the 
French  camp,  or  of  many,  it  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  those 
remarkable  escapes." 


1756]  The  Ranger  39 

nam  and   Durkee  had   succeeded  in   rejoining   their 
fellows: 

"Soon  after,  there  was  a  discovery  made  of  two  Frenchmen 
upon  a  hill  a  small  distance,  who  called  to  us.  Said  hill  over- 
looked our  ambush.  In  a  few  minutes  they  retreated,  and  two 
canoes  appeared  and  went  by  us,  and  lay  in  the  middle  of  the 
lake  about  forty  rods  distance  from  each  other." 

It  was  soon  apparent  to  the  rangers  that  the  enemy 
intended  to  approach  by  both  water  and  land,  in  mak- 
ing the  attack.  In  this  emergency,  Rogers  embarked 
with  some  of  his  men  to  meet  the  hostile  force,  which 
was  not  far  away  on  the  lake,  and  Putnam  remained 
on  shore  in  command  of  the  rest  of  the  scouting- 
party.     Rogers  describes  the  movements  as  follows  : 

"Judging  by  their  behaviour  that  there  was  a  party  coming 
by  land,  and  that  we  must  inevitably  be  between  two  fires,  I 
ordered  two  bateaux  into  the  water  ;  I^ieut.  Grant  with  six  men, 
and  I  with  six  more,  and  we  put  on  board  of  each  a  wall-piece, 
and  went  out  towards  the  canoes,  who  seemed  to  lie  by  their 
paddles,  as  though  they  had  a  design  to  decoy  us  into  some 
mischief  by  their  party,  and  that  it  was  designed  to  surround 
our  people  on  shore,  and  then  attack  us  by  keeping  us  between 
them  and  their  party.  Finding  their  design,  we  attacked  them 
first,  put  them  to  rout  and  surprised  them  so  that  they  made  to 
the  shore,  where  Capt.  Putnam  and  the  rest  of  our  party  lay." 

Next,  comes  the  story  of  the  efficient  help  which 
Rogers  received  from  Putnam,  who  narrowly  escaped 
death  from  the  enemy's  bullets  : 

"They  [the  enemy]  made  to  the  shore,  but  unhappily  for 
them,  he  [Putnam]  was  prepared  for  them,  and  shot  and  killed 
their  cockswain  ;  and  by  our  wall-piece,  etc.,  killed  divers  of 
them.  But  upon  his  firing  upon  their  canoe,  immediately  the 
enemy  that  was  upon  his  back,  fired,  and  he  had  just  time  to 
shove  his  bateau  out  into  the  water,  and  get  into  it,  before  the 


4°  Israel  Putnam  [i755- 

enemy  appeared  upon  the  water's  edge,  and  made  a  brisk  fire 
upon  him.  He  was  shot  through  his  blanket  in  divers  places, 
and  through  the  bateau,  and  then  he  made  to  our  bateaux  for 
refuge.  Upon  his  escape,  we  pursued  the  canoes  with  a  con- 
stant fire  upon  them  till  we  came  within  eighty  rods  of  their 
fires.  Discovered  a  number  of  men  upon  each  side  of  the 
shore,  within  about  forty  rods  of  us,  and  gave  each  a  broadside 
which  put  them  to  the  bush,  and  gave  us  a  clear  passage  home- 
wards." 

The  fortunate  result  of  the  encounter  was  followed 
by  mutual  congratulations  among  the  rangers  and  then 
the  scouting-party  returned  to  camp,  as  we  learn  in  the 
closing  words  of  the  report  : 

"  After  we  got  fairly  into  the  lake  we  lay  upon  upon  our  oars, 
and  inquired  after  the  circumstances  of  the  party.  Found  none 
killed,  but  one  wounded,  which  gave  joy  to  all  of  us,  after  so 
long  an  engagement,  which  I  judge  was  near  two  hours. 

"And  then  we  made  the  best  of  our  way  to  our  headquarters. 
About  half  way,  we  met  with  the  reinforcements — but  upon 
consultation,  thought  best  to  report  what  had  happened,  with- 
out further  proceeding,  and  accordingly  arrived  here,  to  the 
encampment,  the  3d  [of  November]." 

Two  weeks  later  we  find  Putnam  in  charge  of  a 
scouting-party  which  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  in  the 
vicinity  of  South  Bay  for  any  signs  of  a  hostile  force 
approaching  from  that  direction.  On  his  return  with 
his  men,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  two  days,  he  re- 
ported that  he  had  seen  no  enemy,  but  had  discovered 
several  deserted  camps.  The  hostile  force  had  evid- 
ently withdrawn  from  the  region. 

During  the  autumn  there  was  considerable  suffering 
in  camp,  for  the  soldiers  were  too  thinly  clad  for  the  in- 
clement weather.  Orders  were  finally  issued  for  the 
main  body  of  troops  to  break  up  camp.  It  had  been 
decided,  before  the  army  left  L,ake  George,  that  some  of 


1756]  The  Ranger  41 

the  men  from  each  colony  should  be  employed  during 
the  winter  in  garrisoning  Fort  William  Henry  there, 
as  well  as  Fort  Edward  on  the  Hudson  River.  Putnam 
was  one  of  those  retained,  and  on  November  25th  he 
was  made  Captain  of  a  company,  which  by  December 
5th  was  stationed  at  Fort  Edward.  Some  of  these 
soldiers  under  his  command  were  young  men  from  the 
town  of  Pomfret  and  that  vicinity,  whom  he  had  been 
active  in  securing  as  recruits  about  the  time  of  his  own 
enlistment.  The  energy  and  popularity  of  their  leader 
was  an  inducement  for  them  to  remain  for  the  special 
service  during  the  winter  months.  While  the  other 
soldiers,  then,  dispersed  to  their  homes,  Putnam  stayed 
with  the  men  who  were  detailed  to  strengthen,  com- 
plete, and  equip  the  forts,  and  to  improve  the  road 
between  the  Hudson  River  and  the  south-western  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  George.  His  company  was  also  em- 
ployed in  scouting  and  ranging,  but  it  is  uncertain  in 
just  what  expeditions.  Rogers  made  several  excur- 
sions towards  the  enemy's  forts  during  the  winter,  but 
he  does  not  mention  Putnam  in  his  account  of  these 
undertakings  ;  indeed,  it  is  doubtful  whether  or  not 
the  two  rangers  were  associated  during  the  six  months 
after  the  departure  of  the  army,  for  their  headquarters 
were  different  —  Rogers  remaining  at  Fort  William 
Henry,  while  Putnam  was  transferred  to  Fort  Edward. 
Although  we  do  not  have  the  particulars  of  the  service 
which  Putnam  rendered  in  the  winter  of  1755-56,  we 
know  that  it  must  have  been  of  the  same  hazardous 
nature  as  that  in  the  autumn,  for  a  sharp  guerrilla 
warfare  was  carried  on  with  the  enemy.  The  savages 
who  infested  the  region  were  accustomed  to  all  the 
perils  of  winter  and  wilderness,  and,  as  allies  of  the 
French,  were  ready  to  improve  every  opportunity  to 


42  Israel  Putnam  [i755- 

harass  the  English.     Putnam  was  continually  upon  the 
alert. 

Meanwhile,  the  wife  at  Pomfret  must  have  had  many 
anxious  thoughts  about  the  safety  of  her  husband,  from 
whom,  on  account  of  distance  and  isolation,  she  had 
scanty  if  any  news  at  all,  after  the  return  of  the  soldiers 
in  the  early  part  of  December.  Besides  this  solicitude 
for  the  absent  one,  there  were  the  mother's  extra  duties 
at  home,  during  the  winter  months,  in  caring  for  the 
children  and  farm.  On  the  ioth  of  January,  1756,  the 
seventh  child  was  born,  the  daughter  Eunice,  whom 
Putnam  was  destined  not  to  see  until  the  late  spring  or 
early  summer 

In  April,  1756,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  Putnam  at  the 
place  where  the  Indians  had  just  made  an  important 
capture.  Ebenezer  Dyer,  of  New  Haven,  "  fort-major 
and  commissary,"  was  making  his  way  from  Fort 
Edward  to  Saratoga,  escorted  by  men  from  Putnam's 
company,  when  both  he  and  members  of  the  covering 
party  were  surprised  and  overcome  by  the  savages. 
As  soon  as  the  news  reached  Putnam,  he  hastened  to 
the  relief  of  Dyer  and  the  others,  but  the  prisoners  had 
been  carried  off  in  the  meantime  towards  Canada, 
where  they  were  kept  several  years. 

The  place  where  the  capture  occurred  was  identified 
by  Putnam  by  some  bills  of  the  colony  which  he  found 
torn  and  scattered  about.  The  money,  amounting  to 
£21,  had  belonged  to  Dyer.  Five  years  afterwards  the 
Connecticut  Assembly  granted  the  petition  of  "  Col. 
John  Dyar,  administrator  on  the  estate  of  Ebenezer 
Dyar,  late  deceased,"  and  reimbursed  the  "  bills  wholly 
destroyed  by  the  Indians,"  with  interest.  It  was  in 
this  connection  that  Putnam  made  the  following  state- 
ment in  his  own  handwriting  : 


I756]  The  Ranger  43 

"  this  may  cartify  that  the  Day  aftor  Maj'ir  Dyar  was  taken 
captive  by  the  In  dens  I  was  down  on  the  whare  [where]  he  was 
taken  with  a  Party  of  men  and  thare  saw  amongst  his  Papors 
that  ware  torn  to  peses  [pieces]  I  saw  a  considarabel  quantyti 
of  Prock  [Proclamation]  monny  tor  to  peses  and  holy  [wholly] 
mad[e]  uesles  [useless]. 

11  Israex  Putnam.* 

"  May  19,  1760." 

On  May  30,  1756,  Putnam  was  relieved  from  service  ; 
and  in  recognition  of  that  which  he  and  his  principal 
Connecticut  associate  had  accomplished  the  General 
Assembly,  then  in  session  at  Hartford,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"This  Assembly  grants  to  Capt.  Israel  Putnam  the  number 
of  fifty  Spanish  mill'd  dollars,  and  thirty  such  dollars  unto 
Capt.  Noah  Grant,  as  gratuity  for  their  extraordinary  services 
and  good  conduct  in  ranging  and  scouting  the  winter  past  for 
the  annoyance  of  the  enemy  near  Crown  Point  and  discovery 
of  their  motions." 

Nearly  a  year  had  passed  away  since  Putnam  en- 
listed ;  and  glad  he  must  have  been  to  return  home  to 
see  his  wife  and  children,  but  his  stay  with  them  was 
brief,  for  he  was  to  have  part  in  another  campaign 
which  had  already  been  planned  by  the  Government. 

*  From  the  original  document  in  the  State  Library,  Hartford, 
Conn. 


CHAPTER   V 


GUARDING  THK   FORTS 


1756 


HE  New  England  men,  according  to  the 
plans  for  the  campaign  of  1756,  were  to 
be  employed  only  in  a  movement 
against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
while  the  soldiers  whom  William  Shir- 
ley, the  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the 
colonial  troops,  meant  to  lead  in  person,  were  intended 
for  an  attack  on  the  French  forts  at  Lake  Ontario. 
Putnam,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Connecticut,  at  its  March  session,  to  be  Cap- 
tain of  the  Fourth  Company  in  the  First,  or  Lyman's, 
Regiment  from  that  colony,  arrived  in  early  June  at 
the  encampment  at  Half  Moon  on  the  Hudson,  where 
the  provincials  were  mustering.  After  some  delay,  the 
troops,  under  the  command  of  General  John  Winslow, 
moved  forward  from  the  encampment  at  Half  Moon  to 
Stillwater,  and  from  there  to  Saratoga ;  thence  to 
Upper  Falls  and  on  to  Fort  Edward.  Here,  nearly  half 
of  the  army  was  ordered  to  remain  under  General 
Phineas  Lyman  of  Connecticut,  while  Winslow  him- 
self advanced  with  the  rest  of  the  troops  fourteen  miles 
to  Fort  William  Henry,  where  he  expected  to  gather 

44 


1756]  Guarding  the  Forts  45 

all  his  force  at  an  early  date  and  embark  on  Lake 
George  for  the  attack  on  the  French  strongholds.  On 
the  way  from  Half  Moon,  detachments  had  been  left  at 
some  of  the  small  posts  below  Fort  Edward,  but  Putnam 
and  his  company  appear  to  have  been  with  Lyman. 

It  was  now  midsummer.  Hostile  bands  of  French- 
men and  Indians  infested  the  region  wherever  the 
English  were  stationed.  Putnam  was  one  of  the  men 
who  were  especially  employed  to  ward  off  the  skulking 
enemy  and,  as  one  of  the  Connecticut  officers  expressed 
it,  "  to  give  those  villains  a  dressing."  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  difficult  task  to  outwit  the  wily  savages,  who, 
eager  for  scalps,  ventured  near  the  English  posts  and 
practiced  their  most  cunning  stratagems.  Again  and 
again  would  the  nimble  invaders  escape  although 
watched  for  with  the  greatest  vigilance. 

For  several  successive  nights  the  sentinels  on  duty 
at  a  particular  outpost  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Edward 
disappeared  one  by  one.  Strict  orders  were  given  by 
the  commander  that  any  sentinel  hearing  a  noise 
should  call  out  three  times,  "Who  goes  there?" 
Then,  if  there  were  no  response,  he  was  to  fire  at  the 
place  from  which  the  suspicious  sound  came.  How- 
ever, each  morning  the  guard  was  missing,  and  it  was 
evident  that  some  beast  or  savage  of  unusual  craftiness 
watched  about  the  place.  On  account  of  the  great 
danger  of  the  post,  since  some  of  the  bravest  men  in 
the  garrison,  who  had  offered  themselves  as  guards, 
met  the  same  mysterious  fate,  and  because  there  were 
no  more  volunteers,  it  became  necessary  to  draft  men 
for  picket  duty.  This  was  about  to  be  done,  when 
Putnam,  who  as  a  commissioned  officer  was  not  among 
those  from  whom  a  selection  would  be  made,  offered 
his  own  services  in  the  emergency.    He  was  accordingly 


46  Israel  Putnam  [i756 

made  sentinel  for  the  night  with  the  usual  instruc- 
tions. On  reaching  the  post,  Putnam  took  special 
precautions  to  examine  his  surroundings  minutely,  his 
experience  as  a  ranger  having  already  led  him  to  sus- 
pect that  the  Indians  were  guilty  of  picking  off  the 
guards.  It  was  not  until  midnight  that  anything  un- 
usual happened.  Then  his  trained  ear  detected  a 
crackling  sound  in  the  grass.  Anyone  less  alert  than 
Putnam  might  not  have  mistrusted  that  the  noise  came 
from  anything  more  harmful  than  a  belated  animal 
feeding  upon  nuts,  but  he  lost  no  time  aiming  his  gun 
in  that  direction  and  calling  out  three  times,  "  Who 
goes  there  ?  "  After  which,  he  fired  immediately.  He 
heard  a  groan,  and,  upon  going  to  the  spot,  found  that 
he  had  shot  through  the  breast  a  large  Indian,  who  was 
disguised  in  a  bearskin.  This  dying  savage  proved  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  disappearance  of  the  sentinels,  for 
thereafter  trouble  of  that  kind  ceased. 

The  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  French  movements 
in  this  campaign  of  1756  made  it  especially  important 
to  obtain  prisoners  who  could  give  the  much-wished- 
for  information.  On  one  occasion,  when  Putnam  with 
five  scouts  had  been  sent  out  expressly  for  this  purpose, 
an  incident  occurred  which  illustrates  the  difficulty  he 
sometimes  had  in  training  his  men  because  of  their 
obtuseness  to  Indian  wiles.  Having  reached  the  road 
leading  to  Ticonderoga,  the  scouting  party  hid  in  some 
tall  grass  to  watch  for  the  enemy.  Notwithstanding 
the  precautions  which  Putnam  had  insisted  upon,  the 
men  were  careless  in  showing  themselves  ;  and  after 
being  reprimanded  they  concealed  themselves  again 
only  under  protest.  Soon  an  Indian  passed  by,  and, 
at  some  distance  behind  him,  a  Frenchman  followed. 
At  the  right  moment,    Putnam   sprang  out  of    the 


1756]  Guarding  the  Forts  47 

hiding-place  and  started  to  run  after  them.  He  or- 
dered his  men  to  follow  and  expected  them  to  do  so 
as  bravely  as  they  had  disregarded  cautionary  measures. 
At  a  distance  of  thirty  rods,  he  overtook  the  French- 
man and  seized  him  by  the  shoulders  to  take  him 
prisoner.  The  Frenchman,  however,  resisted,  for  he 
saw  no  other  assailant  and  relied  upon  help  from  the 
Indian.  Then  Putnam,  finding  that  his  men,  unmind- 
ful of  their  Captain's  danger,  were  most  inopportunely 
still  hiding  in  the  grass,  released  his  hold,  stepped 
back,  and  aimed  his  gun  at  his  enemy's  breast,  but  it 
missed  fire.  In  this  plight,  he  fled  to  rejoin  his  com- 
panions. The  Frenchman,  in  turn,  pursued  him,  but 
on  seeing  Putnam's  associates  rise  from  the  place  where 
they  had  lain  concealed,  he  rushed  off  in  another  direc- 
tion and  escaped.  So  inefficient  had  the  members  of 
this  party  proved,  that  Putnam  discharged  them  from 
the  special  service  of  scouting.  He  was  not  to  be 
daunted,  however,  in  his  quest  of  a  prisoner,  and,  set- 
ting out  again  soon  afterwards,  he  succeeded  in  catching 
one. 

The  information  about  the  enemy,  which  was  ob- 
tained both  from  prisoners  and  by  the  reconnoissances 
of  the  scouts,  showed  that  the  plans  of  the  English  had 
been  anticipated  by  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  who  had 
succeeded  Dieskau  as  commander  of  the  French  troops. 
He  had  hastened  in  June  to  defend  Ticonderoga  and 
had  strongly  garrisoned  that  important  position.  Hav- 
ing learned  also  of  the  danger  to  which  his  forts  on 
L,ake  Ontario  were  exposed,  he  prepared  to  repel  an 
attack  in  that  direction.  Meanwhile,  the  English  made 
little  progress  in  their  military  operations.  Instead  of 
carrying  out  their  aggressive  policy,  they  were  occupied 
in  protecting  themselves  from  the  ravages  of  swarms  of 


48  Israel  Putnam  [i756 

enemies  who  continued  to  pour  out  from  that  "  hornet's 
nest,"  Ticonderoga.  The  services  of  men  capable  of 
fighting  savages  became  invaluable  to  the  English, 
who  had  few  Indian  allies  in  comparison  with  the 
French.  The  number  of  rangers  had  been  increased 
since  the  previous  year.  They  were  more  formally 
organised  into  companies  under  Robert  Rogers  as  their 
chief.  Bands  of  these  men  moved  in  different  direc- 
tions for  the  defence  of  the  forts,  and  on  one  occasion 
at  least  during  this  campaign  of  1756,  Rogers  and  Put- 
nam made  an  excursion  together. 

While  some  of  the  baggage  and  provisions  were  being 
transferred  from  Fort  Edward  to  Fort  William  Henry 
and  were  at  Half -Way  Brook — so  named  from  being 
midway  between  the  two  places — six  hundred  of  the 
enemy  suddenly  appeared  and,  after  killing  the  oxen 
and  plundering  the  waggons,  succeeded  in  carrying  off 
the  booty.  The  troops  which  had  acted  as  the  English 
escort  dared  to  make  but  little  resistance.  As  soon  as 
the  news  of  the  loss  reached  the  English  garrison, 
Rogers  and  Putnam  were  ordered  to  take  one  hundred 
volunteers  in  boats,  with  two  wall-pieces  and  two 
blunderbusses,  and  to  proceed  down  L,ake  George  to  a 
certain  point  ;  there  to  leave  the  bateaux  under  a 
proper  guard,  and  thence  to  cross  by  land,  so  as  to 
harass,  and,  if  practicable,  intercept  the  retreating 
enemy  at  the  Narrows. 

So  expeditiously  did  the  rangers  execute  these  orders 
that  they  reached  the  Narrows  half  an  hour  in  advance 
of  the  enemy,  who,  unaware  of  the  ambush,  proceeded 
on  their  way  down  Wood  Creek,  their  bateaux  being 
loaded  with  the  plunder.  Suddenly  the  banks  blazed 
forth  a  most  withering  fire.  Many  of  the  oarsmen  were 
killed,  several  of  the  bateaux  were  sunk,  and  few,  if 


1756]  Guarding  the  Forts  49 

any,  of  the  volunteers  would  have  escaped,  had  not  the 
wind  swept  the  rest  of  the  boats  even  more  rapidly  than 
usual  through  the  Narrows  into  South  Bay  and  borne 
them  beyond  gunshot.  Some  of  the  enemy  now  hast- 
ened with  the  news  of  the  attack  by  the  English  to 
Ticonderoga.  From  that  place  a  detachment  was  sent 
immediately  to  intercept  the  rangers  on  their  way  back 
to  Fort  Edward.  Rogers  and  Putnam,  knowing  that 
this  would  be  the  probable  attempt  of  the  French,  re- 
turned with  their  men  as  speedily  as  possible  to  their 
boats,  twenty  miles  distant.  They  reached  these  that 
night,  and  having  embarked  at  once  arrived  on  the 
morrow  at  Sabbath- Day  Point.  There  they  found 
three  hundred  of  the  enemy  on  shore,  preparing  to  at- 
tack them.  This  was  the  hostile  force  which  had  been 
sent  in  pursuit,  but  which,  owing  to  the  darkness,  had 
passed  by  them  unobserved  some  time  in  the  night. 
Having  now  discovered  the  English  approaching,  the 
French  and  Indians,  confident  of  easy  victory  on  ac- 
count of  their  own  overwhelming  numbers,  entered 
their  boats  and  advanced  in  battle  line.  The  rangers 
waited  until  their  assailants  were  within  pistol-shot  ; 
then  they  discharged  their  wall-pieces  and  blunder- 
busses with  such  effect  that,  together  with  the  fire  from 
the  small  arms  immediately  afterwards,  they  made  great 
havoc  among  the  enemy.  By  alternate  discharge  of 
cannon  and  musketry,  they  kept  up  a  continuous  fire, 
which  finally  routed  the  French  and  Indians  and  made 
them  retreat  to  Ticonderoga.  Only  one  ranger  was 
killed  and  two  slightly  wounded.  The  loss  on  the  other 
side  was  very  heavy.  In  one  boat  which  contained 
twenty  Indians,  fifteen  of  them  were  killed,  and  many 
both  of  French  and  Indians  were  seen  to  fall  overboard 
from  the  other  boats.     After  the  battle,   Rogers  and 


50  Israel  Putnam  [i756 

Putnam  refreshed  their  men  on  shore  at  Sabbath-Day 
Point  and  returned  safely  to  camp. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  the  new  com- 
mander-in-chief, who  had  succeeded  Shirley,  arrived  at 
Fort  Edward.  Putnam  now  had  the  chance  to  know 
him,  that  "  rough  Scotch  lord,"  the  "  hot  and  iras- 
cible "  Loudoun,  whose  ignorance  of  the  country  and 
the  army  had  caused  additional  delay  in  the  military 
movements.  August  was  well  advanced  when  the 
startling  news  reached  the  English  that  a  great  disas- 
ter had  befallen  their  forts  at  Oswego.  Colonel  Daniel 
Webb  was  on  his  way  with  reinforcements  for  those  posts 
when  the  tidings  met  him  :  —  Montcalm,  leaving  Levis 
in  command  of  three  thousand  men  at  Ticonderoga, 
had  returned  to  Montreal,  advanced  from  there  to  Lake 
Ontario,  captured  the  garrisons,  and  razed  the  strong- 
holds. The  English  had  been  anxious  about  the  safety 
of  those  forts,  but  were  astonished  at  the  extent  of  the 
calamity.  We  get  an  idea  of  the  feelings  of  the  soldiers 
at  Fort  Edward  —  where  Putnam  first  heard  the  news 
— in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  officers  there  : 
"  Such  a  shocking  affair  has  never  found  a  place  in 
English  annals.  The  loss  is  beyond  account ;  but  the 
dishonour  done  His  Majesty's  arms  is  infinitely 
greater." 

The  catastrophe  seemed  to  paralyse  the  English 
plans  for  the  remainder  of  the  campaign.  Winslow, 
who  was  still  at  Fort  William  Henry,  received  orders 
from  Loudoun  to  give  up  the  proposed  attack  on  Ti- 
conderoga and  to  remain  where  he  was  ;  and  Winslow 
was  glad  to  stay,  for,  as  he  said  with  grim  humour, 
"  the  sons  of  Belial  are  too  strong  for  me."  Pie  began 
at  once  to  intrench  his  camp  as  formidably  as  possible, 
and  made  an  almost  impenetrable  abattis  by  having  the 


1756]  Guarding  the  Forts  51 

trees  felled  for  the  space  of  a  mile  between  Lake 
George  and  the  mountains.  Meantime,  Montcalm  had 
returned  to  Ticonderoga  and  strongly  garrisoned  that 
position  with  a  force  of  more  than  five  thousand  men. 
Rumours  reached  the  English  that  he  was  about  to  move 
upon  them,  but  Montcalm  stayed  at  his  own  fortifica- 
tion, vigilantly  guarding  it. 

Although  the  armies  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  lake 
did  not  stir  from  their  strongholds,  their  own  scouts 
were  as  active  as  ever.  Among  those  of  the  English, 
Kennedy,  Hazen,  Peabody,  Waterbury,  Miller,  and 
other  provincial  officers  rendered  valuable  service, 
"  though  few,"  says  Parkman,  in  speaking  of  them, 
"  were  so  conspicuous  as  the  blunt  and  sturdy  Israel 
Putnam." 

On  October  16th,  Winslow,  in  writing  to  Loudoun, 
mentioned  the  reconuoissance  of  a  scouting  party 
which  had  just  returned  to  Fort  William  Henry.  He 
said  that  it  was  the  best  yet  made,  and  that  the  report 
of  the  leader,  Putnam,  could  be  implicitly  trusted,  for  he 
was  a  man  of  strict  truth.  On  the  expedition  to  which 
Winslow  referred,  Putnam  and  six  men  had  embarked 
in  a  whaleboat  and  proceeded  down  Lake  George  to  a 
point  on  the  east  side,  opposite  the  place  where  Hague, 
N.  Y.,  now  stands.  Having  concealed  the  boat  and 
travelled  north-easterly  towards  Lake  Champlain, 
the  scouts  arrived  within  three  miles  of  Ticonderoga. 
After  reconnoitring  it  from  a  mountain,  they  went 
down  nearer  and  pursued  three  Frenchmen,  who  es- 
caped within  the  fort.  Then  Putnam  and  his  men 
climbed  the  mountain  a  second  time  and  moved  west- 
ward along  the  ridge,  making  careful  observations  of 
all  the  enemy's  outposts  between  Ticonderoga  and 
Lake  George. 


52  Israel  Putnam  [i756 

In  the  intervals  between  his  expeditions  northward 
this  autumn,  Putnam  was  constantly  employed  with 
the  other  rangers  in  patrolling  the  woods  about  Fort 
Edward  and  Fort  William  Henry.  A  very  interesting 
relic  relating  to  Putnam  is  a  powder-horn  which  was 
made  this  year  and  which  he  afterwards  carried.  It  is 
about  twenty  inches  long  and  holds  one  pound  and  a 
fourth  of  powder.  The  carving  upon  it  is  said  to  have 
been  done  by  John  Bush,  who  was  an  adept  in  such 
wrork.     This  is  the  inscription  : 

"  Capt.  Israel  Putnam's  Horn  made  at 
Fort  Wm.  Henry  Nov'r  ioth  a.  d.  1756." 

Next  upon  the  horn  is  a  quaint  plan  of  the  route  of  the 
enemy  from  Albany  to  Lake  George,  showing  the 
stations  and  forts  between  those  points.  Then  follows 
this  stanza  : 

"  When  bows  and  weighty  spears  were  used  in  Fight 
Twere  nervous  limbs  Declrd  [declared]  a  man  of  might 
But  now  Gun-powder  scorns  such  strength  to  own 
And  Heroes  not  by  Limbs  but  souls  are  shown." 

Last  come  the  capitals,  WAR,  with  some  curious 
designs  between  the  letters.* 

In  November,  the  main  body  of  the  English  troops 
retired  for  the  winter  ;  the  regulars  went  into  quarters 
at  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  while  the  pro- 
vincials marched  for  home.  Some  of  the  rangers, 
however,    remained   in   active   service.     There  is  no 


*  This  old  powder-horn  is  now  owned  by  Israel  Waldo  Put- 
nam of  Rockland,  Washington  County,  Ohio,  a  great-great- 
grandson  of  Putnam.  He  has  also  a  pair  of  pistols  with  holsters, 
a  magnet,  and  a  brass  bullet-mould,  all  of  which  once  belonged 
to  Putnam. 


i 


1756] 


Guarding  the  Forts 


53 


mention  of  Putnam  in  the  account  of  the  exploits  dur- 
ing the  winter.  He  had  probably  returned  to  Pomfret. 
If  so,  he  stayed  only  a  few  weeks  at  home,  for  the  French 
commander  had  plans  which  many  of  the  provincials 
felt  the  necessity  of  forestalling  by  being  on  the  field  at 
the  very  opening  of  the  next  campaign.  "  When 
Monsieur  Montcalm  went  off,"  reported  one  of  the 
prisoners  whom  Putnam  and  his  men  had  captured  in 
the  autumn  of  1756,  "  he  said  he  had  done  enough  for 
this  year,  and  would  take  Fort  William  Henry  early  in 
the  spring." 


CHAPTER   VI 


SAVAGE  WARFARE 


1757-1758 

ORD  LOUDOUN,  who  was  still  Com- 
mander-in  chief,  decided  to  use  most  of 
the  English  forces  for  the  new  campaign 
in  a  movement  against  Louisbourg,  on 
Cape  Breton  Island.  Partly  because 
of  the  necessity  of  garrisoning  Forts 
Edward  and  William  Henry,  in  the  absence  of  the  main 
army  on  the  proposed  expedition,  and  partly  as  a  con- 
cession to  the  New  England  colonists,  who  were  greatly 
disappointed  and  alarmed  that  the  attempt  on  Crown 
Point  was  not  to  be  renewed  in  1757,  some  of  the  pro- 
vincials, as  well  as  regulars,  were  ordered  to  remain  on 
duty  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Hudson  River  and  Lake 
George.  Among  these  men  was  Putnam.  The  Con- 
necticut company,  of  which  he  was  Captain,  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Edward  during  most  of  the  cam- 
paign. There  is  an  interesting  reference  to  Putnam, 
in  a  letter  which  Lieutenant  Samuel  Porter  of  Killingly, 
Connecticut,  wrote  in  June  of  this  year,  1757: 

"  My  Dear  &  Loving  Wife  : 

".     .     .     I  received  your  Letter  Dated  the  6th  of  May.     I  re- 
ceived it  May  20  at  Fort  Edward  from  Capt.  Putnam's  hand. 

54 


[1757-53]  Savage  Warfare  55 

.  .  .  I  have  sent  you  six  letters  before  this.  The  last  I  sent 
from  Fort  Edward  Dated  June  the  9th.  ...  I  told  you  in 
that  letter  that  Capt.  Putnam  had  took  out  a  number  of  his 
men  and  also  a  number  of  other  company  and  made  up  a  com- 
pany of  Rangers,  &  about  60  of  our  Company  was  left  with 
Ensign  Hayward  &  I,  and  so  it  remains  yet.  The  next  day 
after  I  wrote  to  you  there  was  a  number  of  our  Connecticut 
men  out  at  work  with  a  guard  but  the  Enemy  came  and 
fired  upon  them  and  Captivated  four  of  them,  one  of  them  was 
David  Campbell  of  Killingly,  of  our  company.  Capt.  Putnam 
was  then  out  for  several  days  and  when  he  came  in  he  brought 
in  a  Frenchman  which  he  took  near  the  Narrows  which  gives 
an  account  of  four  prisoners  being  brought  in,  and  describes 
Campbell  very  well  for  he  had  but  one  eye, — and  when  the 
enemy  did  this  mischief  General  Lyman  in  his  own  person 
with  a  small  party  went  after  the  enemy  8  or  10  miles  and  came 
upon  them  &  fired  &  recovered  several  Mohawks.  Yesterday 
some  Mohawks  Brought  in  a  stout  Frenchman  which  they  said 
they  took  near  Crown  Point  as  I  understand.  But  what  more 
they  have  got  from  the  Frenchman  by  examining  him,  I  have 
not  heard  as  yet."  * 

When  Putnam  returned  to  Fort  Edward  from  the 
expedition,  mentioned  in  the  letter  which  has  just  been 
quoted,  he  found  that  Frye's  Massachusetts  regiment 
had  arrived  there  in  his  absence.  Among  these  new 
men  was  one  of  his  relatives,  a  tall  and  robust  young 
private,  who  was  to  be  associated  with  him  on  some 
important  occasions,  in  both  this  war  and  the  American 
Revolution.     This  was  Rufus  Putnam, f  now  nineteen 


*  From  the  original  letter  owned  by  Miss  Ruth  Carter  Tracy, 
of  Beverly,  Mass.,  a  great-great-granddaughter  of  Lieutenant 
Samuel  Porter. 

t  Rufus  Putnam,  like  Israel,  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  John 
Putnam,  who  emigrated  to  America  about  1640,  the  line  being 
as  follows  :  Rufus,6  Elisha,4  Edward,3  Thomas,2  John.1  Some 
writers  mistake  the  relationship  between  Israel  and  Rufus  and 
speak  of  them  as  own  cousins,   but  they  were  more  distant 


56  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

years  old,  whose  journal,  kept  during  1757  and  in 
later  years,  is  interesting  and  valuable  as  an  original 
source  of  information  *  in  regard  to  Israel  Putnam. 

Within  a  few  days,  Israel  was  off  on  another  expedi- 
tion, for  on  July  1st  Rufus  made  this  entry  : 

"This  day  there  came  in  two  of  Capt.  Putnam's  men  and 
brought  in  news  that  Capt.  Putnam  fired  upon  three  or  four 
hundred  French  and  Indians  on  South  Bay,  but  when  they  got 
to  shore  they  were  too  hard  for  him  and  he  wanted  help. 
General  Lyman  with  about  400  men  went  out  for  his  relief." 

That  evening,  Israel  Putnam  himself  returned  to  the 
fort  and  gave  an  account  of  the  engagement. f     He  had 


kinsmen,  for  Joseph  Putnam  (Israel's  father)  and  Edward  Put- 
nam (Rufus's  grandfather)  were  half-brothers. 

Rufus  was  born  April  9,  1738,  at  Sutton,  Mass.  After  his 
father's  death  in  1745,  he  spent  two  years  at  the  home  of  his 
maternal  grandfather,  Jonathan  Fuller,  at  Danvers,  Mass.  In 
1747,  his  mother  married  for  her  second  husband  Captain  John 
Sadler,  an  innkeeper,  of  Upton,  Mass.,  and  Rufus  went  to  live 
with  them.  The  step-father  had  little  sympathy  with  the  boy's 
ambition  to  study  and  denied  him  all  school  advantages.  But 
Rufus  devoted  his  spare  time  to  text-books,  which  he  bought 
with  the  money  earned  by  serving  guests  at  the  tavern  and  by 
selling  small  game  which  he  had  shot.  By  his  own  unaided 
efforts,  he  made  considerable  progress  in  the  way  of  education. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  was  bound  apprentice  to  one  Daniel 
Matthews,  of  Brookfield,  Mass.,  to  learn  the  trade  of  millwright, 
and  was  continuing  his  studies  in  his  leisure  moments  there,  at 
the  time  of  his  enlistment. 

*The  original  manuscripts  of  Rufus  Putnam  are  in  the 
Library  of  Marietta  College,  Marietta,  Ohio. 

His  journal,  kept  during  four  campaigns  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  has  been  edited,  with  notes  and  biographical 
sketch,  by  E.  C.  Dawes,  and  was  published  at  Albany,  in  1886. 

|  Humphreys  makes  an  error  in  saying  that  this  affair  occurred 
"  when  General  Abercrombie  took  command  at  Fort  Edward," 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  57 

been  ordered  to  take  sixty  men  or  more  and  go  by  land 
to  South  Bay,  in  Lake  Champlain,  in  order  to  make  dis- 
coveries and  to  intercept  the  enemy's  parties.  Having 
reached  a  ledge  *  near  the  entrance  of  South  Bay,  he 
built  a  stone  parapet  thirty  feet  long.  He  screened 
this  with  young  pine  trees  which  he  had  cut  and 
brought  from  a  distance  ;  these  he  planted  so  skilfully 
that  they  looked  like  a  natural  growth.  The  bank  in 
this  place  was  well  adapted  for  such  a  breastwork,  for 
it  rose  from  the  water  a  jutting  precipice  ten  or  twelve 
feet  in  height.  In  the  long  march  and  the  labour  of 
building  the  fortification,  fifteen  of  the  men  fell  ill  and 
had  to  be  sent  back.  The  supply  of  provisions  became 
so  scanty  that  Putnam  was  obliged  to  deviate  from  the 
rule  he  had  made  which  forbade  the  firing  of  a  gun, 
while  on  a  scouting  expedition,  except  at  an  enemy, 
and  he  himself  shot  for  food  a  buck  which  had  leaped 
into  the  lake.  This  was  on  the  fourth  day  after  the 
works  were  finished.     That  evening  about  ten  o'clock, 


and  in  placing  it  after  the  surrender  of  Fort  William  Henry. 
Both  Rufus  Putnam  and  Colonel  James  Montresor,  the  British 
engineer,  recorded  it  on  July  i,  1757,  in  their  journals. 

*Lossing  in  his  Pictorial  Field- Book  of  the  Revolution,  vol. 
i.,  describes  this  ledge  as  "  Putnam's  Ledge  "  or  "  Put's  Rock," 
which  projects  from  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Champlain  at  "  the 
Elbow,"  which  is  half  a  mile  from  Whitehall  Landing.  He 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  "  in  the  older  histories  and  in 
geographies  of  the  state  of  New  York,  the  whole  narrow  part 
of  Lake  Champlain  south  of  Ticonderoga  was  called  respectively 
Wood  Creek  and  South  River,"  and  that  "  these  names  for  that 
portion  of  the  lake  have  become  obsolete."  Some  writers 
have  been  misled,  therefore,  by  Humphreys's  statement  that 
Putnam  "  posted  himself  at  Wood  Creek,  near  its  entrance  into 
South  Bay."  Wood  Creek  does  not  flow  into  South  Bay,  but 
enters  Lak'.  Champlain  at  Whitehall. 


58  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

one  of  the  sentinels  on  duty  at  the  margin  of  the  bay, 
came  back  with  the  news  that  a  fleet  of  bark  canoes 
filled  with  men  was  approaching.  Putnam  immedi- 
ately ordered  every  man,  including  the  sentinels,  whom 
he  called  in,  to  take  post  behind  the  breastwork.  The 
part  of  the  lake  which  the  enemy  soon  entered  is  very 
narrow  —  only  a  few  rods  wide  —  and  the  shores  on 
either  side  abrupt  and  rocky,  the  bank  opposite  the 
parapet  being  about  twenty  feet  high.  The  night  was 
clear  and  the  full  moon  shone  with  unusual  brightness. 
Every  thing  was  profoundly  still.  Putnam  intended 
to  divide  the  hostile  force  by  letting  part  of  the  canoes 
pass  before  he  began  an  attack.  Some  of  the  enemy 
paddled  by,  little  suspicious  of  danger  ;  but  unluckily 
one  of  the  soldiers,  hidden  on  the  bank,  accidentally 
struck  his  firelock  on  a  stone.  The  quick  ears  of  the 
commanding  officer,  who  was  in  one  of  the  foremost 
canoes,  detected  the  sound,  and  he  instantly  uttered  the 
Indian  signal,  "  Owish."  Putnam  and  his  men  heard 
him  repeat  it  several  times, — that  savage  watchword 
for  the  main  body  to  advance,  pronounced  with  a  long 
labial  hissing,  the  O  being  almost  silent.  The  long 
line  of  canoes  huddled  together.  It  was  evident  that 
the  little  band  under  Putnam  was  greatly  outnumbered, 
for  the  centre  of  the  enemy's  force  was  just  in  front  of 
the  parapet,  and  the  fleet  covered  the  lake  above  and 
below  for  a  considerable  distance.  The  officers  seemed 
to  be  in  grave  consultation.  Soon  the  canoes  began  to 
move  as  if  orders  had  been  given  to  retreat.  Then 
Putnam,  who  had  commanded  his  men  not  to  fire  until 
he  gave  the  signal  by  doing  so  himself,  discharged  his 
gun.  A  deadly  volley  followed  from  the  breastwork, 
and  the  well-concerted  attack  threw  the  enemy  into 
great  confusion.     When  they  began  to  recover  from 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  59 

their  consternation,  they  discovered  from  the  infre- 
quency  of  the  firing— although  there  was  no  real  inter- 
mission— that  the  number  of  their  concealed  assailants 
must  be  small,  and  they  set  about  to  land  and  surround 
them.  Putnam  had  forestalled  this  movement  by 
sending  Lieutenant  Robert  Durkee  and  twelve  men 
about  thirty  rods  down  the  lake.  They  succeeded  in 
repulsing  the  party  which  attempted  to  land  there. 
Meanwhile,  another  small  detachment  under  Lieutenant 
Parsons,  which  had  been  sent  up  the  lake,  prevented 
the  enemy  from  getting  on  shore  in  that  direction. 

In  the  weird  moonlight  the  tragic  scene  continued. 
Putnam  and  his  men  poured  an  incessant  and  destruc- 
tive fire  upon  the  enemy,  who  in  return  groaned, 
shrieked,  yelled,  and  ineffectively  shot  toward  the 
parapet.  At  dawn  Putnam  learned  that  some  of  the 
foe  had  landed  below  him  and  were  hastening  to  cut 
off  his  retreat.  Knowing  that  the  force  was  superior 
to  his  own  and  that  he  could  make  but  little  resistance, 
since  his  soldiers  had  only  a  small  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion left,  some  of  them  having  in  fact  shot  their  last 
round,  he  ordered  his  men  to  "  swing  their  packs." 
They  retired  rapidly,  in  good  order,  and  succeeded  in 
advancing  far  enough  up  Wood  Creek  to  avoid  being 
surrounded,  although  they  were  obliged  to  leave  behind 
them  three  of  their  number,  who  had  been  wounded  in 
the  long-continued  action.  Afterwards,  when  Putnam 
was  in  Canada,  he  learned  that  the  French  and  Indians 
in  the  memorable  moonlight  encounter  numbered  five 
hundred,  commanded  by  the  famous  partisan,  Marin. 
No  scouting  party  since  the  war  began  had  suffered 
such  a  loss,  for  more  than  one-half  of  those  who  went 
out  never  came  back. 

When  Putnam  and  his  gallant  little  company  had 


60  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

been  on  the  march  along  Wood  Creek  about  an  hour, 
after  leaving  the  parapet,  they  were  suddenly  fired 
upon.  "  Rightly  appreciating,"  as  Humphreys  ex- 
presses it,  "  the  advantage  often  obtained  by  assuming 
a  bold  countenance  on  a  critical  occasion,"  Putnam, 
who  was  in  front,  "  in  a  stentorophonick  tone  "  ordered 
his  followers  to  charge  upon  the  assailants.  The  sup- 
posed hostile  force  proved  to  be  but  a  band  of  provin- 
cials who  were  also  out  on  a  scouting  trip.  They 
fancied  they  were  attacking  the  French,  but  fortun- 
ately the  leader  recognised  Putnam's  voice  and  cried 
out  for  all  to  stop  firing,  saying,  "  We  are  friends." 
Whereupon  Putnam  brusquely  called  to  him,  "  Friends 
or  enemies,  you  all  deserve  to  be  hanged  for  not  killing 
more,  when  you  had  so  fair  a  shot !  ' '  Characteristic  as 
this  was  of  Putnam's  martial  spirit,  he  must  have  been 
glad  at  heart  that  only  one  of  his  men  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  hasty  attack  by  friendly  scouts. 

At  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  from  Fort  Edward, 
Putnam  met  the  detachment  which  had  been  sent  to 
his  aid.  This  reinforcement  under  Lyman  did  not, 
however,  turn  back,  but  hastened  on  to  relieve  the 
wounded.  Three  days  later,  the  soldiers  at  the  fort 
learned  the  sad  result  of  the  search.  ' '  General  Lyman 
came  in,"  writes  Rufus  Putnam  on  July  4th,  "  with  all 
the  men  that  went  out  with  him  ;  but  they  found  that 
two  of  those  wounded  men  of  Capt.  Putnam's  were 
carried  off,  and  the  third  they  found  barbecued  at  a  most 
doleful  rate."  Colonel  Montresor,  too,  made  a  record 
of  the  return  of  Lyman,  who  "  saw  no  enemy"  but 
"  found  one  of  the  remains  of  the  people  that  was 
scalped  and  mangled  of  Putnam's  Party."  * 

*  Journal  of  Col.  James  Montresor  in  Collections  of  New 
York  Historical  Society,  1881. 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  61 

On  Thursday,  July  5th,  the  soldiers  from  the  provin- 
cial force  at  Fort  Edward,  who  "  were  to  do  Ranging 
duty  and  no  other ' '  during  the  campaign,  were  formally 
organised  into  six  companies.  "  Out  of  our  Regt.," 
says  Rufus  Putnam,  "  was  Capt.  West  and  Capt. 
Learned,  out  of  Connecticut  was  Capt.  Putnam  and 
Capt.  Sefford,  and  out  of  York  forces  Capt.  Meginiss, 
out  of  Rhode  Island  Capt.  Wall." 

The  next  week  Colonel  Montresor  wrote  in  his 
journal  : 

"Wednesday  [July]  13th,  Capt  Putnam  with  a  Scouting 
party  of  100  men  went  out  this  morning  and  sent  about  8  o'clock 
a  man  in  to  acquaint  the  General  [Webb]  that  his  Party  had 
seen  about  25  of  the  Enemy  in  a  Swamp  about  4  miles  off,  but 
he  came  in  soon  afterwards  himself  with  an  account  that  they 
had  escaped." 

A  few  days  later,  Putnam  and  his  rangers  were 
stationed  on  an  island  not  far  from  Fort  Edward.  On 
Saturday  morning,  July  23rd,*  they  were  alarmed  by 
the  sound  of  firing.  The  direction  from  which  it  came 
showed  that  the  enemy  must  be  making  an  attack  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  fort.  Instantly  calling  to  his  men 
to  follow  him,  Putnam  plunged  into  the  river,  waded 
through  it,  and  pressed  on  with  all  possible  speed  to 
assist  the  garrison  with  his  own  force. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  men  from  the  fort  had  been  at 
work  that  morning,  cutting  timber  in  the  adjoining 
woods.  They  were  guarded  by  a  band  of  British  regu- 
lars, fifty  or  more  in  number,  who  were  stationed  at  the 
head   of  a  swamp,   which   was  thickly  covered   with 

*This  date  is  given  by  both  Rufus  Putnam  and  Colonel 
Montresor  in  their  journals  in  describing  the  attack.  Hum- 
phreys makes  a  mistake  in  placing  this  incident  after  the  sur- 
render of  Fort  William  Henry. 


62  Israel  Putnam 


[1757- 


bushes.*  A  strip  of  land,  formed  by  the  swamp  on  one 
side  and  a  creek  on  the  other,  led  to  the  fort,  which  lay 
westward  about  an  hundred  rods  from  the  covering 
party.  Suddenly,  an  arrow  whizzed  from  the  thickets 
and  lodged  in  the  limb  of  a  tree,  just  above  the  head  of 
one  of  the  sentinels.  He  immediately  gave  the  alarm, 
and  it  was  soon  discovered  that  a  large  number  of  In- 
dians were  lying  in  ambush  in  the  vicinity.  The 
workmen  started  on  the  retreat  to  the  fort.  Then  the 
enemy,  who  had  attempted  to  pick  off  the  sentinels  by 
arrows  and  surprise  the  whole  party,  rushed  from  the 
bushy  morass,  into  which  they  had  stealthily  crept  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  began  a  fierce  assault  with  guns  and 
tomahawks  and  their  other  weapons.  This  hostile 
force,  which  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm  had  sent  under 
the  command  of  Marin,  consisted  of  about  two  hundred 
men,  mostly  Indians.  It  was  now  ' '  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,"  according  to  Rufus  Putnam,  and 
"  they  fired  on  our  workmen  within  80  Rods  of  the 
Fort."  The  guard  of  regulars  poured  a  well-timed 
volley  on  the  enemy  and  held  them  in  check  for  a  little 
while. 

On  his  way  to  the  scene  of  action,  Israel  Putnam 
passed  the  fort.  The  outposts  had  been  called  in  and 
the  gate  shut,  for  the  commander  there  expected  that 
the  main  body  of  the  enemy  would  make  a  general  as- 
sault upon  the  fortifications.  When  Putnam,  un- 
daunted by  the  fact  that  all  who  remained  outside 
would  be  left  to  their  fate,  was  hurrying  by  with  his 


*  Humphreys  says  that  Captain  Little  was  in  command  of  the 
covering  party  of  British  regulars  and  also  speaks  of  him  as 
Israel  Putnam's  "friend,"  but  he  does  not  mention  Captain 
Learned  who  is  spoken  of  in  Rufus  Putnam's  account  of  the 
events  of  the  same  day. 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  63 

followers  to  the  assistance  of  the  soldiers  who  had  been 
attacked,  General  Lyman,*  unwilling  that  more  lives 
should  be  sacrificed,  mounted  the  parapet,  and  ordered 
him  to  proceed  no  farther.  But  Putnam  stopped  only 
to  make  a  brief  apology  and  marched  on.  He  soon  ar- 
rived at  the  place  where  the  little  baud  of  regulars,  with 
the  assistance  of  a  few  provincials,  were  holding  their 
ground  against  their  savage  assailants.  Some  of  the 
workmen  had  succeed  in  reaching  the  fort,  and  the  rest 
of  them  were  defending  themselves  as  best  they  could. 
After  the  fighting  had  lasted  about  an  hour,  Israel 
Putnam  decided  to  make  a  charge  with  his  men  into 
the  swamp,  where  the  enemy  had  taken  advantage  of 
the  bushes  to  conceal  themselves  when  firing.  With  a 
sudden  burst  of  threatening  shouts  and  yells  the  whole 
party  dashed  forward.  So  unexpected  was  the  onset 
that  the  Indians  recoiled,  and  then  fled  in  every  direc- 
tion. Putnam  and  his  men  followed  them  ;  and  al- 
though some  of  the  savages  tried  to  rally  and  there  was, 
according  to  Niles,f  "  a  smart  skirmish  firing  on  both 


*  Moutresor,  in  speaking  of  the  soldiers  who  advanced  to  the 
aid  of  those  who  were  attacked,  says,  "  Genl.  Lyman  with 
another  body  went  also."  None  of  the  other  accounts,  how- 
ever, contain  a  similar  statement.  If  Lyman  did  join  in  the 
fight,  he  left  the  fort  after  Putnam  passed  by,  for,  besides  the 
story  which  Humphreys  tells  of  Lyman  ordering  Putnam  not 
to  go,  we  have  the  record  of  Rufus  Putnam  that  Captain 
Learned's  company  was  the  first  on  the  ground,  and  Captain 
Putnam  and  his  company  arrived  next. 

f  Rev.  Samuel  Niles,  sometimes  called  Father  Niles  (born 
1674,  died  1762),  who  had  personal  knowledge  of  many  of  the 
events  which  he  describes  in  his  "Summary  Historical  Nar- 
rative of  the  Wars  in  New  England  with  the  French  and 
Indians."  See  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  v.,  p.  439. 


64  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

sides  about  fifteen  minutes,"  all  the  Indians  were 
finally  forced  to  retreat.  "  Our  men,"  says  Niles, 
"  behaved  gallantly,  officers  and  soldiers;  they  pursued 
the  enemy  so  warmly,  that  they  recovered  several  guns 
and  some  packs."  He  gives  us  some  idea  of  the  sad 
circumstances  relating  to  those  who  had  fallen  while 
bravely  resisting  the  foe.  "  Captain  Waldo  drew  six 
arrows  out  of  the  body  of  one  of  his  men  that  was 
killed."  The  dead,  all  of  them  scalped,  were  eleven 
in  number,  and  two  of  the  several  soldiers  who  were 
wounded  died  the  following  night.  One  man  was 
carried  away  prisoner.  It  was  evident  from  the  ' '  track 
of  blood"  that  the  enemy's  loss  was  great,  but  no 
bodies  were  found,  for,  as  Niles  tells  us,  "  it  is  the  con- 
stant custom  of  the  Indians  to  hazard  their  lives  to  a 
great  degree  rather  than  leave  their  dead  behind  them." 
Putnam's  invaluable  service  in  the  morning  seems  to 
have  redeemed  whatever  disregard  of  orders  he  showed 
by  taking  part  in  the  fight,  for,  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day,  he  was  put  in  command  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  and  sent  on  the  important  duty  of  pursuing 
the  enemy.  His  young  relative,  Rufus,  accompanied 
him  and  gives  the  following  account : 


"  We  marched  on  the  Indian  trail  until  sunset ;  Captain 
Putnam  then  ordered  three  of  us  to  follow  the  trail  a  mile  or 
more  farther  and  there  lie  close  till  it  was  quite  dark,  and  to 
observe  if  any  came  back,  *  for,'  said  he,  '  if  they  do  not  embark 
in  their  boats  to-night,  they  will  send  a  party  back  to  see  if  they 
are  pursued.'  We  went  according  to  orders,  but  made  no  dis- 
covery. And  here  I  would  remark,  that  Captain  Putnam's  pre- 
caution struck  my  mind  very  forcibly  as  a  maxim  always  to  be 
observed,  whether  you  are  pursuing  or  pursued  by  an  enemy, 
especially  in  the  woods.  It  was  the  first  idea  of  generalship 
that  I  remember  to  have  treasured  up." 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  65 

On  the  next  day,  July  24th,  Israel  Putnam  and  his 
rangers  returned  from  the  pursuit,  "  having  discovered 
an  encampment  of  about  500  or  600  men  near  Fort 
Ann." 

The  absence  of  Lord  Loudoun,  with  the  best  of  the 
English  troops  on  the  expedition  against  Louisbourg, 
had  given  the  French  just  the  opportunity  they 
wished.  Montcalm  proposed  to  seize  Fort  William 
Henry,  to  advance  against  Fort  Edward,  and  devastate 
the  country  as  far  as  Albany  itself.  He  had  been 
active  in  gathering  a  great  body  of  Indians,  from  as  far 
east  as  Acadia  and  west  as  Lake  Superior,  and  already 
nearly  two  thousand  savages  had  responded  to  his  call. 
These  allies  increased  his  army  to  eight  thousand  men. 

On  July  25th,  General  Webb,  who  was  in  chief  com- 
mand of  the  English  garrisons,  left  Fort  Edward  for 
Lake  George,  under  the  escort  of  Capt.  Israel  Putnam 
and  two  hundred  men.  When  the  party  reached  Fort 
William  Henry,  they  found  that  the  rangers  had  failed 
in  several  attempts  to  reconnoitre  in  the  night.  Put- 
nam begged  to  go  down  Lake  George  in  the  daytime, 
land  at  Northwest  Bay  with  only  five  men,  send  back 
the  rest  of  the  party  with  the  boats  so  as  to  avoid  being 
detected,  and  make  the  best  discoveries  he  could  by 
land  of  the  enemy's  position,  force,  and  probable  move- 
ments. General  Webb  thought  the  plan  too  hazardous, 
but  he  finally  allowed  him  to  undertake  it  with  eighteen 
volunteers  in  three  whale-boats. 

Before  Putnam  reached  Northwest  Bay,  he  discovered 
men  on  an  island.  He  decided  to  carry  back  the  news 
immediately,  but,  lest  he  should  alarm  the  enemy,  he 
took  the  precaution  to  leave  two  boats  behind,  with 
orders  for  the  men  in  them  to  fish  on  the  lake  as  if  they 
had  come  solely   for  that  purpose.     When   General 


66  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

Webb  saw  the  one  boat  hurriedly  returning,  he  sup- 
posed that  the  others  had  been  captured.  He  sent  a 
skiff  to  meet  it,  with  instructions  for  Putnam  alone  to 
come  on  shore,  and  after  learning  from  him  that  there 
were  signs  of  a  hostile  force  in  the  vicinity,  he  re- 
luctantly granted  his  urgent  request  to  go  back  to 
obtain  more  information  and  to  fetch  the  other  boats. 
Having  rejoined  his  men  where  he  had  left  them,  Put- 
nam advanced  for  further  discovery,  and  saw  by  the  aid 
of  a  telescope  the  enemy  approaching  him  on  the  lake. 
His  whale-boats  were  hotly  pursued  and  barely  escaped 
being  surrounded  by  the  foremost  canoes.  On  his 
return  to  General  Webb  again,  Putnam  reported  that 
the  enemy  had  doubtless  gathered  their  forces  for  an 
attack  on  Fort  William  Henry.  The  General  agreed 
with  him  in  this  supposition,  ordered  him  to  keep  the 
matter  secret,  and  to  make  ready  to  accompany  him 
back  to  Fort  Fdward  without  delay.  Putnam  remon- 
strated. "  I  hope,"  he  said  to  Webb,  in  a  conversation 
which  Humphreys  has  recorded,  "  your  Excellency 
does  not  intend  to  neglect  so  fair  an  opportunity  of 
giving  battle,  should  the  enemy  presume  to  land?" 
"  What  do  you  think  we  should  do  here  ?  "  was  the 
curt  reply  of  the  General,  who  did  not  dare  to  face  the 
hostile  force. 

On  Friday,  July  29th,  Webb,  under  escort  of  the 
company  which  Putnam  commanded,  left  Fort  William 
Henry  at  noon,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Fdward  that 
evening  at  seven  o'clock.  He  sent  a  letter  at  once  to 
the  Governor  of  New  York,  in  which  he  told  him  that 
the  French  were  certainly  coming,  and  urged  him  to 
forward  the  militia.  "  I  am  determined,"  Webb  wrote 
at  this  time,  in  referring  to  the  necessity  of  reinforcing 
the  garrison  of  twelve  hundred  men  under   Colonel 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  67 

Monro,  "  to  march  to  Fort  William  Henry  with  the 
whole  army  under  my  command  as  soon  as  I  shall  hear 
of  the  farther  approach  of  the  enemy." 

Three  days  passed  away  and  then  on  Tuesday, 
August  2nd,  General  Webb  sent  to  the  lake  a  detach- 
ment of  one  thousand  men.  The  reinforcement  carried 
valuable  baggage  and  camp  equipage,  but  this  was 
against  the  advice  of  Israel  Putnam,  who  seems  to  have 
had  a  strong  premonition  of  the  disaster  which  was 
to  befall  Fort  William  Henry.  Eager  and  solicitous 
as  he  had  been  to  aid  in  defending  that  fort  after  he 
had  discovered  the  enemy  in  the  vicinity,  he  must 
have  been  disappointed,  after  escorting  General  Webb 
back  to  Fort  Edward,  to  be  still  retained  at  the  latter 
place  when  the  detachment  was  forwarded.  At  Fort 
Edward  remained  also  Colonel  Montresor  and  Rufus 
Putnam,  and  from  their  journals  we  learn  what  Israel 
Putnam  himself  must  have  heard  and  seen,  while  the 
fort,  fourteen  miles  away,  was  being  besieged. 

"We  were  alarmed  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning,"  records 
Montresor,  on  Wednesday,  August  3rd,  "with  the  report  of 
Cannon  from  Fort  WT  Henry,  two  or  three  shot  sometimes 
within  a  minute  or  two  of  one  another  and  sometimes  above  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  &  more  till  10  o'cl*  The  firing  increased  in 
the  afternoon  till  6  o'clock.  Two  of  the  Rangers  brought  in  a 
French  Deserter." 

This  Frenchman  told  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
besiegers  had  approached  and  set  to  work  for  the  in- 
vestment of  the  fort  at  the  lake.  While  the  siege  of 
Fort  William  Henry  was  in  progress,  the  soldiers  at 
Fort  Edward  began  to  strengthen  their  own  defences. 
Israel  Putnam  shared  in  these  preparations  for  repelling 
the  enemy  if  they  advanced  from  the  lake.     A  letter 


68  Israel  Putnam  [1757- 

arrived,  on  Thursday,  from  Colonel  Monro  for  General 
Webb,  stating  "  that  the  French  General  sent  to  him 
to  surrender  the  Fort,  but  he  answered  he  would  defend 
it  to  the  last."  The  "  cannon  firing,"  which  the 
soldiers  at  Fort  Edward  heard  on  Friday, ' '  began  early 
but  distant  from  one  another."  It  was  heavier  and 
less  intermittent  in  the  afternoon,  but  ceased  at  night. 
During  that  day  another  message  was  received  from 
Colonel  Monro,  saying  that  although  his  "  men  were 
in  good  spirits  and  of  good  courage,"  he  must  be  re- 
inforced. Saturday,  the  fourth  day  of  the  siege, 
began,  with  "  very  great  firing  from  5  o'clock  in  the 
morning  until  8,"  and  now  it  was  "supposed  the 
French  had  erected  their  Batteries  in  the  night." 
The  force  at  Fort  Edward  was  increased  that  day  by 
the  arrival  of  Sir  William  Johnson  with  Indians  and 
militia  from  Albany.  General  Webb,  who,  notwith- 
standing the  repeated  expresses  from  Colonel  Monro, 
had  done  nothing  for  his  relief,  allowed  General  John- 
son to  start  for  the  lake  with  a  reinforcement  which 
included  a  company  of  rangers  under  Israel  Putnam  ; 
but  before  the  detachment  had  marched  three  miles 
the  order  was  countermanded,  and  the  men  returned. 
It  appears  that  Putnam,  when  a  prisoner  in  Canada 
the  next  year,  was  told  by  Montcalm  himself  that  the 
movement  of  these  troops  towards  the  lake  was  reported 
in  the  French  camp  by  an  Indian  scout,  who,  in  reply 
to  a  question  regarding  the  probable  number  of  men 
coming,  said,  "  If  you  can  count  the  leaves  on  the  trees 
you  can  count  them."  The  besiegers  suspended 
operations  and  thought  seriously  of  re-embarking,  but 
another  scout  arrived  with  the  news  that  the  English 
detachment  had  turned  back. 

By  Monday,   August  8th,   Colonel  Monro  and  his 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  69 

men  were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Their  loss,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  now  numbered  more  than  three 
hundred  ;  many  of  the  soldiers  were  ill  of  smallpox  ; 
the  rest  of  the  force  could  make  but  feeble  defence 
against  the  approaches  of  the  enemy. 

"I^ast  night, "  writes  Rufus  Putnam,  at  Fort  Edward  on 
Tuesday  morning,  "we  saw  the  signals  that  were  flung  up  for 
signals  of  distress  at  Fort  William  Henry.  The  Post  also  said 
that  they  had  split  most  of  their  Cannon,  and  that  they  must 
be  obliged  to  give  up  the  Fort,  except  they  had  relief  from  this 
Fort.  This  express  arrived  in  about  ten  o'clock  [in  the  morn- 
ing] and  before  he  came  in,  the  Cannon  ceased  but  we  know 
not  the  meaning  of  it." 

The  meaning  was  that  Colonel  Monro  had  surren- 
dered. 

But  shortly  after  the  capitulation  had  been  duly 
signed  at  Eake  George,  a  dreadful  tragedy  began  there. 
The  English,  being  allowed  their  private  effects  and 
promising  not  to  serve  against  the  French  for  eighteen 
months,  were  to  march  out  of  their  works  with  the 
honours  of  war  and  be  escorted  to  Fort  Edward  by  a 
detachment  of  Montcalm's  force.  No  sooner,  however, 
had  the  garrison  evacuated  the  fort  and  joined  the  rest 
of  the  prisoners  at  the  intrenched  camp,  which  was  in- 
cluded in  the  surrender,  than  the  Indian  allies  of  the 
victors  got  at  the  English  liquor  and  quickly  felt  no 
restraint  upon  their  barbarous  passions.  Some  of 
Monro's  men,  who  escaped  from  the  massacre,  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Fort  Edward. 

There  was  now  great  excitement  at  Fort  Edward. 
The  savages,  for  aught  the  soldiers  there  knew,  might 
be  already  approaching.  General  Webb  himself  was 
as  frightened  as  any  of  his  men,  and,  giving  credence 
to  the  exaggerated  rumours  which  spread  through  the 


70  Israel  Putnam  \msi 

camp,  was  on  the  verge  of  retreating  with  the  garrison. 
Brave  Israel  Putnam,  ready  for  service,  was  sent  out 
with  his  rangers  to  scout,  and  discovered  that  there  was 
no  immediate  danger  of  an  attack  by  the  Indians,  for 
they  had  decamped  in  a  body  and  gone  northward, 
taking  their  plunder  and  prisoners  with  them.  Mont- 
calm was  making  no  preparations  to  march  with  the 
rest  of  his  force  against  Fort  Edward,  but  had  set  his 
soldiers  to  work  demolishing  the  fort  at  the  lake. 
They  were  tearing  down  the  barracks,  throwing  the 
great  timbers  of  the  rampart  into  a  heap,  and  tossing 
the  bodies  of  the  English  dead  onto  the  mass,  for  a 
huge  pyre. 

Until  August  1 6th,  the  French  were  occupied  in 
devastating  at  Lake  George,  and  then  they  re-embarked 
for  Montreal.  When  the  terror  at  the  possibility  of 
being  besieged  had  been  somewhat  allayed  at  Fort 
Edward,  cannon  were  fired  at  intervals  to  guide  the 
survivors  of  the  massacre,  who  were  still  wandering  in 
the  woods.  From  day  to  day  they  came  dropping  in, 
and  Israel  Putnam,  after  his  return  from  the  scouting 
expedition,  must  have  been  a  witness  of  the  pitiable 
condition  of  these  men  who  were  half  dead  of  fright  and 
famine.  He  must  have  heard  their  tales  of  horror  and 
listened  also  to  the  tragic  experiences  of  many  of  his 
comrades,  whom  the  French  recovered  from  the  Indians 
and  sent  with  all  the  other  prisoners  to  Fort  Edward. 

After  the  departure  of  the  French,  Israel  Putnam 
and  his  rangers  were  the  first  persons  upon  the  scene 
of  the  massacre.  Amid  the  smouldering  ruins  of  the 
fort  was  the  ghastly  sight  of  half-consumed  corpses  ; 
and  in  every  direction  were  shocking  evidences  of 
barbarity.  We  can  understand  the  feelings  of  the 
generous  and  warm-hearted  soldier  who  looked  upon 


1758]  Savage  Warfare  71 

the  "  horrid  scene  of  blood  and  slaughter,"  where  the 
dead  victims — men,  women,  and  children,  all  fiendishly 
mutilated  —  "afforded  a  spectacle  too  horrible  for 
description." 

On  August  2 1 st,  just  after  he  returned  from  the  lake 
to  Fort  Edward,  ' '  Captain  Putnam  went  for  eleven  days 
scouting."  He  came  in  on  the  30th,  reporting  that  he 
had  been  in  the  vicinity  of  Ticonderoga. 

During  the  autumn,  Putnam  was  associated  with 
Rogers  in  the  ranging  service. 

"In  one  of  these  parties,"  says  the  latter,  "my  Lord  Howe 
did  us  the  honour  to  accompany  us,  being  fond,  as  he  expressed 
himself,  to  learn  our  method  of  marching,  ambushing,  retreat- 
ing, &c,  and  upon  our  return  expressed  his  good  opinion  of  us 
very  generously." 

It  was  on  this  expedition  that  there  began  a  friend- 
ship between  the  young  nobleman  and  Putnam  which 
is  recorded  in  the  next  campaign. 

On  November  7th,  Lord  Loudoun,  who  had  recently 
returned  from  his  bootless  Eouisbourg  expedition, 
arrived  at  Fort  Edward.  The  provincial  soldiers,  who 
had  been  retained  to  complete  the  works  there,  were 
soon  ordered  to  return  home.  Israel  Putnam  remained 
on  duty  for  the  winter.  The  rangers,  with  whom  he 
continued  to  serve,  "  were  encamped  and  quartered  in 
huts"  on  an  island  in  the  Hudson  River,  near  the 
garrison  left  at  Fort  Edward.  This  story  of  his  heroic 
and  successful  exertions  in  saving  Fort  Edward  from 
fire,  at  the  imminent  risk  of  his  own  life,  is  told  by 
Humphreys  : 

"In  the  winter  of  1757,  when  Colonel  Haviland  was  Com- 
mandant at  Fort  Edward,  the  barracks  adjoining  to  the  north- 
west bastion  took  fire.     They  extended  within  twelve  feet  of  the 


72  Israel  Putnam  [i757- 

magazine,  which  contained  three  hundred  barrels  of  powder. 
On  its  first  discovery,  the  fire  raged  with  great  violence.  The 
Commandant  endeavoured,  in  vain,  by  discharging  some  pieces 
of  heavy  artillery  against  the  supporters  of  this  flight  of  bar- 
racks, to  level  them  with  the  ground.  Putnam  arrived  from 
the  island,  where  he  was  stationed,  at  the  moment  when  the 
blaze  approached  that  end  which  was  contiguous  to  the  maga- 
zine. Instantly,  a  vigorous  attempt  was  made  to  extinguish  the 
conflagration.  A  way  was  opened  by  a  postern  gate  to  the 
river,  and  the  soldiers  were  employed  in  bringing  water  ;  which 
he,  having  mounted  on  a  ladder  to  the  eaves  of  the  building,  re- 
ceived and  threw  upon  the  flames.  It  continued,  notwithstand- 
ing their  utmost  efforts,  to  gain  upon  them.  He  stood,  enveloped 
in  smoke,  so  near  the  sheet  of  fire,  that  a  pair  of  thick  blanket 
mittens  were  burnt  entirely  from  his  hands  ;  he  was  supplied 
with  another  pair,  dipt  in  water.  Colonel  Havilaud,  fearing 
that  he  would  perish  in  the  flames,  called  to  him  to  come  down. 
But  he  entreated  that  he  might  be  suffered  to  remain,  since  de- 
struction must  inevitably  ensue  if  their  exertions  should  be 
remitted.  The  gallant  Commandant,  not  less  astonished 
than  charmed  at  the  boldness  of  his  conduct,  forbade  any  more 
effects  to  be  carried  out  of  the  fort,  animated  the  men  to  re- 
doubled diligence,  and  exclaimed,  '  if  we  must  be  blown  up,  we 
will  all  go  together.'  At  last,  when  the  barracks  were  seen  to 
be  tumbling,  Putnam  descended,  placed  himself  at  the  inter- 
val, and  continued  from  an  incessant  rotation  of  replenished 
buckets  to  pour  water  upon  the  magazine.  The  outside  planks 
were  already  consumed  by  the  proximity  of  the  fire,  and,  as  only 
one  thickness  of  timber  intervened,  the  trepidation  now  became 
general  and  extreme.  Putnam,  still  undaunted,  covered  with 
a  cloud  of  cinders,  and  scorched  with  the  intensity  of  the  heat, 
maintained  his  position  until  the  fire  subsided,  and  the  danger 
was  wholly  over.  He  had  contended  for  one  hour  and  a  half 
with  that  terrible  element.  His  legs,  his  thighs,  his  arms,  and 
his  face  were  blistered;  and  when  he  pulled  off  his  second  pair  of 
mittens,  the  skin  from  his  hands  and  fingers  followed  them.  It 
was  a  month  before  he  recovered.  The  Commandant,  to  whom 
his  merits  had  before  endeared  him,  could  not  stifle  the  emotion 
of  gratitude,  due  to  the  man  who  had  been  so  instrumental  in 
preserving  the  magazine,  the  fort,  and  the  garrison." 


1758] 


Savage  Warfare 


73 


Towards  the  end  of  the  winter,  Putnam,  in  condition 
for  further  service,  was  sent  on  an  expedition  north- 
ward. 

"  On  Captain  Putnam's  return,"  writes  Rogers  in  his  journal, 
"  we  were  informed  he  had  ventured  within  eight  miles  of  the 
French  fort  at  Ticonderoga,  arid  that  a  party  he  had  sent  to 
make  discoveries  had  reported  to  him,  that  there  were  near  600 
Indians  not  far  from  the  enemy's  quarters." 

In  the  spring  of  1758,  Putnam  made  a  journey  to 
Connecticut  to  see  his  family,  and  to  take  command  of 
the  soldiers,  recently  enlisted  in  his  own  colony,  over 
wrnom  he  had  been  appointed  for  the  coming  campaign. 


CHAPTER   VII 


the;  attack  on  ticonderoga 


1758 


t'Vl'yyVVtWVH 


UTNAM  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Major  by  the  General  Assembly, 
which  met  at  New  Haven  in  March, 
1758.  At  this  session,  Connecticut 
voted  to  furnish  five  thousand  men  for 
the  new  campaign,  a  force  three  times 
larger  than  that  which  the  colony  had  sent  into  the 
field  in  the  spring  of  1757.  The  three  expeditions  for 
the  coming  campaign  were  to  be  against  the  same 
French  strongholds  as  in  the  previous  year.  Louis- 
bourg  was  to  be  attacked  by  Major-General  Jeffrey 
Amherst,  and  Fort  Duquesne  by  Brigadier-General  John 
Forbes.  General  James  Abercrombie,  the  Command- 
er-in-chief of  all  the  forces,  was  to  lead  a  combined 
British  and  provincial  army  against  Crown  Point.  It 
was  in  this  last  expedition,  in  which  most  of  the  Con- 
necticut men  were  employed,  that  Putnam  had  a  part. 
There  were  fewer  delays  than  usual  by  the  colonies 
in  forwarding  their  troops,  and  during  May  the  pro- 
vincials, in  large  numbers,  joined  the  regulars  in  the 
vicinity  of  Albany.  Detachments,  in  which  were  some 
of  the  Connecticut  soldiers,  were  retained  to  garrison 

74 


1758]       The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga        75 

Stillwater,  Saratoga,  Fort  Miller,  and  Fort  Edward, 
but  the  men  to  whom  Israel  Putnam  was  assigned  were 
among  those  who  were  ordered  to  march  with  all  haste 
to  I^ake  George.  Soon  on  the  site  of  the  notable 
events  of  the  war,  the  defeat  of  Dieskau  and  the  loss 
of  Fort  William  Henry,  were  assembled  more  than  nine 
thousand  provincials.  Near  the  provincial  camp  were 
pitched  the  tent  of  six  thousand  regulars.  The  presence 
of  Brigadier-General  Lord  Howe  rather  than  that  of  the 
chief  commander,  Abercrombie,  created  confidence  and 
enthusiasm  throughout  the  whole  army.  Lord  Howe, 
who  was  now  in  his  thirty-fourth  year,  was  a  natural 
leader.  "  The  army  felt  him,  from  general  to  drum- 
mer-boy." He  won  the  respect  and  affection  of  all  by 
his  modesty  and  common  sense,  and  by  the  way  in 
which  he  adapted  himself  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
frontier  warfare.  He  improved  every  opportunity  to 
show  his  special  interest  in  the  rangers.  His  intimacy 
with  some  of  the  provincial  officers  did  much  toward 
breaking  down  the  strained  relations  which  had  ex- 
isted between  many  of  the  British  regulars  and  provincial 
soldiers.  We  can  easily  understand  his  warm  appre- 
ciation of  the  frank,  generous,  intrepid  Israel  Putnam, 
and  how  his  acquaintance  with  him  ripened  into  a 
strong  friendship. 

By  the  last  week  in  June  all  the  troops  had  arrived 
at  Lake  George.  Having  declared  the  capitulation  of 
Fort  William  Henry  "  null  and  void,"  because  the 
enemy  had  broken  the  terms  "  by  murdering,  pillag- 
ing, and  captivating"  the  English,  General  Aber- 
crombie ordered  preparations  to  be  made  at  once  for 
the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga.  By  seven  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  July  5th,  the  army  of  more  than 
fifteen   thousand   men   had  embarked   in  about   nine 


76  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

hundred  bateaux  and  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  whale- 
boats  ;  a  large  number  of  rafts,  or  heavy  flatboats, 
carried  the  artillery.  In  the  great  armament,  Israel 
Putnam  and  many  of  the  soldiers  must  have  shared  the 
feelings  of  one  of  their  number  who  soon  afterwards 
wrote  :  "  I  never  beheld  so  delightful  a  prospect." 
It  was  a  martial  spectacle,  made  brilliant  indeed  by  the 
banners  and  the  music,  the  uniforms,  the  plaids  of  the 
Highlanders,  the  glittering  weapons,  the  flashing  oars, 
the  sparkling  waters,  the  background  of  forests  and 
mountains,  and  all  the  picturesque  beauty  of  the  scene 
on  the  fair  summer  day.  Before  ten  o'clock,  the  fleet 
had  passed  over  the  wider  part  of  the  lake  and  had 
entered  the  Narrows.  There  the  boats  were  formed 
into  files  and  made  a  line  six  miles  long,  as  they  ad- 
vanced between  the  mountains  which  rose,  on  either 
hand,  from  the  water's  edge.  At  five  in  the  evening, 
all  the  troops  reached  Sabbath-Day  Point,  twenty-five 
miles  down  the  lake.  They  waited  here  until  ten 
o'clock. 

During  the  remainder  ot  the  night,  the  great  flotilla 
continued  on  its  journey.  At  dawn,  in  passing  the 
bare  steeps  of  Rogers  Rock,  it  was  watched  by  a  French 
advance  party  under  Langy  and  Trepezec.  When 
the  English  drew  near  the  northern  end  of  the  lake  on 
this  morning  of  July  6th,  a  party  including  Lord 
Howe,  Rogers,  Putnam,  and  other  officers,  went  in 
whale-boats  to  reconnoitre  the  landing,  and,  having 
discovered  a  detachment  of  the  enemy  on  the  shore, 
drove  them  off  without  difficulty.  By  noon  the  whole 
army  had  landed  on  the  west  side. 

The  bridge  at  the  outlet  having  been  burned  by  the 
French,  Abercrombie  decided  to  advance  across  the 
plain  to  Trout  Brook,  and,  by  passing  round  the  western 


1758]       The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga        77 

bank  of  the  river  of  the  outlet,  approach  the  enemy's 
fort.  He  accordingly  ordered  Rogers  and  a  party  of 
rangers,  as  well  as  the  Connecticut  regiments  of  Fitch 
and  Lyman,  to  lead  the  way,  while  he  followed  with 
the  main  army,  which  was  formed  in  four  columns,  the 
regulars  being  in  the  centre  and  the  provincials  on  the 
flanks.  Israel  Putnam,  with  two  hundred  rangers,  ac- 
companied Lord  Howe,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
principal  column. 

The  army  advanced  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and 
soon  was  "  in  the  strange  situation  "  of  being  lost  in 
the  forest,  for,  to  quote  from  Abercrombie  himself, 
"  the  woods  being  very  thick,  impassable  with  any 
regularity  to  such  a  body  of  men,  and  the  guides  un- 
skilful, the  troops  were  bewildered,  and  the  columns 
broke,  falling  in  one  upon  another."  *  Suddenly, 
while  the  soldiers,  who  had  now  proceeded  about  two 
miles  from  the  landing-place,  were  struggling  in  the 
maze  of  trees  and  thick  undergrowth,  a  sharp  chal- 
lenge in  French,  ' '  Qui  vive  f  ' '  came  from  the  thickets  in 
front  of  some  of  the  troops.  "Francais!  "  replied  the 
English,  but  the  enemy  were  not  deceived  and  began 
firing  out  of  the  bushes.  This  hostile  force  which  the 
army  had  encountered  was  none  other  than  the  French 
advance  party  under  Langy  and  Trepezec,  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  all,  who,  in  retreating 
from  Rogers  Rock  towards  Ticonderoga,  had  also  be- 
come confused  and  for  hours  had  been  wandering  in 
the  forest.  They  had  now  fallen  in  between  the  main 
body  of  the  English  and  the  detachment  consisting  of 
Rogers's  rangers  and  the  two  Connecticut  regiments. 


*  Letter  of  Abercrombie  to  Pitt,  in  Documents  Relating  to  the 
Colonial  History  of  New  York,  vol,  x.,  p.  726. 


78  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

The  attack  began  just  in  front  of  the  column  which 
Lord  Howe  commanded,  and  which  was  a  little  in 
advance  of  the  three  others. 

Humphreys  says  that  the  following  conversation  took 
place : 

"  ■  Putnam,'  said  Lord  Howe,  '  what  means  that  firing? '  '  I 
know  not,  but,  with  your  Lordship's  leave,  will  see,'  replied  the 
former.  'I  will  accompany  you,'  rejoined  the  gallant  young 
nobleman.  In  vain  did  Major  Putnam  attempt  to  dissuade  him 
by  saying — '  My  Lord,  if  I  am  killed  the  loss  of  my  life  will  be 
of  little  consequence,  but  the  preservation  of  yours  is  of  infinite 
importance  to  this  army.'  The  only  answer  was,  '  Putnam,  your 
life  is  as  dear  to  you  as  mine  is  to  me  ;  I  am  determined  to  go.'  " 

With  a  detachment  from  the  main  body,  Howe  and 
Putnam  made  a  rapid  movement  forward  and  a  hot 
skirmish  followed. 

The  English  troops  had  been  thrown  into  extreme 
confusion  by  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  but  the  self- 
possession  and  bravery  of  the  rangers  prevented  a 
panic.  Although  the  beloved  Lord  Howe  was  the 
first  man  that  fell  in  the  skirmish,  the  band  of  wood- 
land warriors  under  Putnam  maintained  their  ground, 
until  by  the  approach  of  Rogers  and  the  soldiers  with 
him,  the  enemy  were  caught  between  two  fires.  The 
French  fought  desperately,  but  Putnam  and  his  men 
"  cut  their  way  obliquely  through  the  enemy's  ranks," 
and,  being  reinforced  by  Captain  Dalzell  with  twenty 
men,  together  with  a  few  other  troops,  made  a  success- 
ful charge.  Only  about  fifty  of  the  French  escaped  ; 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  were  taken 
prisoners,  and  the  rest  were  killed  in  the  fight  or  were 
drowned  in  trying  to  swim  through  the  rapids. 

The  victory  was  marred,  however,  by  the  serious 
blunder  of  some  of  the  English  soldiers  who  were  op- 


1758]       The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga        79 

posite  Putnam.  Having  mistaken  his  party  for  the 
enemy,  they  opened  a  fierce  fire  when  he  and  his  men 
were  advancing,  over  the  dead  bodies,  towards  them, 
to  join  the  left  wing  of  the  army.  A  sergeant  and 
several  privates  with  Putnam  were  killed  before  he 
succeeded  in  making  the  troops  aware  of  their  tragic 
error,  and  this  he  was  able  to  do  only  by  exposing  him- 
self to  the  greatest  peril  in  running  in  face  of  the 
musketry  into  their  ranks. 

Few  of  the  English  had  been  slain  in  the  encounter 
with  the  French,  but  the  death  of  I,ord  Howe  was  a 
disaster  indeed.  "  A  brave  and  bold  commander," 
wrote  Rufus  Putnam  in  his  journal,  "  that  worthy 
man,  my  L,ord  Howe,  who  is  lamented  by  us  all  and 
whose  death  calls  for  our  revenge."  Israel  Putnam 
shared  deeply  in  the  grief  expressed  in  this  and  many 
other  tributes  to  the  memory  of  his  personal  friend,  a 
hero  so  beloved. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  also  all  the 
following  night,  the  army  was  kept  under  arms  in  the 
forest.  Putnam  was  employed  until  dark  in  caring  for 
the  wounded  enemy.  He  helped  in  picking  them  up, 
and  gathering  them  in  one  place  ;  he  gave  them  such 
food  and  drink  as  he  could  secure,  and  furnished  each 
of  them  with  a  blanket.  As  an  illustration  of  Put- 
nam's "  tender  feelings"  for  the  "  unfortunate  foe," 
Humphreys  says  that  he  put  three  blankets  under  a 
French  sergeant  who  was  badly  wounded  through  the 
body,  and  placed  him  in  as  comfortable  a  posture  as 
possible  by  the  side  of  a  tree.  The  suffering  man,  in 
appreciation  of  this  act  of  forethought,  could  only 
gratefully  press  the  hand  of  his  benefactor.  Putnam 
assured  the  Frenchman  that  he  would  be  carried  to  the 
camp  as  soon  as  possible,  and  would  receive  the  same 


80  Israel  Putnam  [i75s 

care  as  if  he  were  his  brother.  In  contrast  to  the 
humanity  of  Putnam,  Humphreys  mentions  the  brutal- 
ity of  Rogers,  who  was  sent  the  next  morning  in  search 
of  those  of  the  wounded  enemy  who  had  not  yet  been 
picked  up  in  the  forest.  He  "  dispatched  to  the  world 
of  spirits  "  all  of  those  who  were  unable  to  help  them- 
selves, and  thus  saved  himself  the  trouble  of  caring  for 
them.  Such  conduct  was  not  inconsistent  with  the 
character  of  Rogers.  ' '  As  a  man, ' '  Parkman  has  truly 
said  of  him,  "  his  deserts  were  small  ;  as  a  bush-fighter 
he  was  beyond  reproach." 

After  the  night  spent  in  the  forest,  the  army  was 
marched  back  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  to  the  land- 
ing-place. From  there,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bradstreet  advanced  with 
a  detachment  of  regulars,  provincials,  and  rangers,  and 
on  reaching  the  saw-mill  at  the  Falls,  within  two  miles 
of  Ticonderoga,  rebuilt  the  bridges  which  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  retiring  enemy.  "  I  accordingly 
marched  thither  with  the  troops,"  writes  Abercrombie, 
"  and  we  took  up  our  quarters  there  that  night."  The 
soldiers  had  regained  their  confidence,  and  imagined 
themselves  victors  in  the  morrow's  fight. 

The  French,  however,  were  strongly  fortifying  them- 
selves at  Ticonderoga.  Their  fort  there  stood  near  the 
end  of  the  peninsula,  which  is  bounded  on  the  east  by 
Lake  Champlain,  and  on  the  south  and  south-west  by 
the  outlet  of  Lake  George.  In  order  to  protect  the 
only  approach  by  land,  Montcalm,  on  the  morning  of 
July  7th,  had  set  his  men  to  work  constructing  a 
formidable  breastwork  on  the  high  ground  about  a  half- 
mile  west  of  the  fort.  Thousands  of  trees  were  felled, 
and  the  trunks  piled  one  upon  another  to  form  a 
massive  wall,  which  began  near  the  wet  meadows  on  the 


1758]       The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga        81 

north  and  followed  the  course  of  the  ridge  across  the 
plateau  to  the  low  ground  bordering  the  outlet.  From 
these  zigzag  works,  flank-fires  of  musketry  and  grape 
could  sweep  the  whole  front.  Beyond  the  wall,  to  the 
distance  of  a  musket-shot,  the  forest  was  laid  flat  and 
the  trees,  being  left  where  they  had  been  hewn  down, 
formed  one  vast  abattis.  Immediately  in  front  of  the 
breastwork  the  ground  was  spread  with  heavy  branches, 
interwoven  and  projecting  outwards  with  sharpened 
points.  This  prodigious  amount  of  work  had  been  ac- 
complished in  one  day.  After  the  arrival  of  the  Eng- 
lish at  the  saw-mill,  Montcalm  was  strengthening  his 
defences  still  further  and  making  his  final  arrangements 
for  resisting  the  threatening  assault.  His  total  force, 
including  a  few  hundred  men  brought  by  Levis  on  the 
evening  of  the  7th,  was  only  thirty-six  hundred. 

Meanwhile,. in  the  English  camp,  Abercrombie  had 
been  deceived  by  his  prisoners  into  believing  that  the 
French  numbered  six  thousand  men  and  were  hourly 
expecting  a  large  reinforcement.  He  was  eager  to 
forestall  the  enemy's  succour  by  making  an  attack  at 
once,  although  his  cannon  had  not  arrived.  Clerk,  the 
chief  engineer,  was  sent  in  the  early  morning  of  the  8th 
to  reconnoitre  the  French  lines,  and  returned  with 
11  favourable  reports,"  as  the  official  account  states,  "  of 
the  practicability  of  carrying  these  works  if  attacked  be- 
fore they  were  finished. ' '  Then  Abercrombie,  heedless 
of  the  warning  of  Putnam  and  other  officers,  who  were 
convinced  by  their  own  observations  as  well  as  wood- 
land experience  that  the  formidable  obstructions  had 
already  been  completed, — then  Abercrombie,  in  spite 
of  these  protests,  resolved  to  storm  the  French  breast- 
works that  very  day  and  gave  his  orders  accordingly. 

Soon  after  noonday,  the  English  van,  consisting  of 

6 


82  Israel  Putnam  [1758 

the  rangers,  the  light  infantry,  and  Bradstreet's  armed 
boatmen,  issued  from  the  forest  into  the  open  space  and 
began  a  scattering  fire.  They  were  followed  by  some 
of  the  provincial  troops,  who  extended  from  left  to  right, 
and  joined  in  the  preliminary  discharges.  Then  the 
regulars,  in  columns  and  with  fixed  bayonets,  advanced 
through  the  openings  between  the  provincial  regiments 
and  took  the  lead  ;  but  as  they  pressed  forward  to  the 
assault,  their  ranks  were  broken  by  the  abattis.  In 
the  confusion,  while  the  soldiers  struggled  to  force  their 
way  over  the  fallen  trees  and  projecting  limbs,  inces- 
sant and  murderous  fire  blazed  from  the  woods  in  front. 
Officers  and  men  were  mowed  down  by  hundreds  ;  the 
rest  returned  the  fire  as  best  they  could,  and  bravely 
attempted  to  push  close  to  the  breastwork.  The  maze 
of  obstructions  and  the  terrific  cross-fires  finally  com- 
pelled the  assailants  to  fall  back,  and  amid  the  grape- 
shot  and  musket-balls  which  tore  the  air,  they  retreated 
from  the  open  space. 

When  Abercrombie,  who  had  remained  behind  at  the 
saw-mill,  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  learned  of  the  repulse, 
he  sent  orders  for  a  second  assault.  Another  carnage 
followed,  which  Parkman  has  described  in  graphic 
language : 

"The  scene  was  frightful;  masses  of  infuriated  men  who 
could  not  go  forward,  and  would  not  go  back  ;  straining  for  an 
enemy  they  could  not  reach,  and  firing  on  an  enemy  they  could 
not  see  ;  caught  in  the  entanglement  of  fallen  trees  ;  tripped  by 
briers,  stumbling  over  logs,  tearing  through  boughs  ;  shouting, 
yelling,  cursing,  and  pelted  all  the  while  with  bullets  that 
killed  them  by  scores,  stretched  them  on  the  ground,  or  hung 
them  on  jagged  branches  in  strange  attitudes  of  death.  The 
provincials  supported  the  regulars  with  spirit,  and  some  of  them 
forced  their  way  to  the  foot  of  the  wooden  wall."  * 

*  Montcalm  and  Wolfe. 


758] 


The  Attack  on  Ticonderoga        83 


The  courage  of  the  provincial  soldiers,  to  which  Park- 
man  refers,  was  owing  in  part  to  the  special  service 
rendered  by  Putnam,  who  assisted  in  bringing  the 
provincial  troops  successively  into  action  and  rallying 
the  men  in  the  midst  of  the  fearful  conflict.  Many  of 
them  were  animated  with  fresh  daring  by  his  own 
intrepidity  and  pressed  forward  to  renewed  exer- 
tions. 

The  English  made  six  consecutive  assaults  between 
one  and  seven  o'clock.  Early  in  the  fight,  twenty 
bateaux  loaded  with  soldiers  were  sent  by  Abercrombie 
down  the  outlet  of  Eake  George  towards  the  fort,  but 
were  driven  back  by  the  cannon.  A  column,  consist- 
ing of  English  grenadiers  and  the  Highlanders,  at- 
tacked the  enemy's  right,  and  "  continued  charging  for 
three  hours  without  retreating  or  breaking."  About 
five  o'clock,  two  columns  joined  in  an  assault  on  a  point 
between  the  French  centre  and  right,  and  some  of  the 
soldiers  succeeded  in  hewing  their  way  to  the  foot  of 
the  breastwork.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  At  length, 
when  nearly  two  thousand  of  their  number  were  lying 
dead  or  wounded  before  the  lines,  the  English  were 
forced  to  retire.  An  hour  and  a  half  longer  Israel  Put- 
nam remained  before  the  lines,  for,  until  half-past 
seven,  the  retreat  of  the  main  body  of  troops  was 
covered  by  the  rangers,  who  kept  up  a  continuous  fire 
from  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  from  behind  the  stumps 
and  bushes.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  all  the  assail- 
ants withdrew,  and  only  the  dead  and  wounded  were 
left.  During  the  night,  the  English  made  their  way 
back  to  the  landing-place.  The  next  morning,  Aber- 
crombie, who  had  decided  to  make  no  further  attempt 
to  capture  the  French  stronghold,  ordered  all  his  men 
to  embark   for  the  place  where  Fort  William  Henry 


84 


Israel  Putnam 


[1758 


had  once  stood.  In  "great  confusion  and  sorrow" 
they  set  out  on  July  9th  for  the  head  of  the  lake,  and 
arrived  there  the  same  day  at  sunset.  Thus  ended  a 
most  unfortunate  expedition. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  PRISONER 
1758 


jFTKR  the  return  of  the  army  from  the 
disastrous  attempt  on  Ticonderoga, 
Israel  Putnam  was  employed  again  in 
the  ranging  service.  His  exploit  in 
escaping  down  the  rapids  of  the  Hud- 
son, in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Miller, 
which  stood  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson  River, 
in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Northumberland,  Saratoga 
County,  N.  Y.,  occurred  at  this  period.  He  chanced 
one  day  to  be  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  with  five 
companions  and  a  bateau,  when  he  was  warned  by  some 
of  his  party,  who  were  on  the  opposite  side,  that  a 
large  band  of  Indians  was  approaching  behind  him. 
Knowing  that  it  would  be  fatal  to  try  either  to  make  a 
stand  against  overwhelming  numbers,  or  to  cross  the 
river  under  fire  of  the  enemy,  Putnam  bethought  him- 
self of  going  down  the  rapids,  hazardous  as  such  an 
attempt  seemed.  There  was  no  time  to  lose.  One  of 
his  men,  being  a  little  distance  away,  unfortunately 
had  to  be  left  behind,  and  was  soon  afterwards  killed  by 
the  savages.  Putnam  and  the  other  men  had  barely 
pushed  off  in  their  boats,  when  they  were  fired  upon. 

85 


86  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

The  current,  which  bore  them  beyond,  musket-shot, 
soon  became  itself  extremely  dangerous,  for  it  swept 
the  bateau  with  great  rapidity  among  jutting  rocks  and 
into  whirling  eddies.  The  self-possession  and  skill  of 
Putnam  saved  the  boat  from  being  upset  or  dashed  to 
pieces.  From  his  position  at  the  helm,  he  twice  turned 
it  fairly  round  in  order  to  avoid  the  rocks,  and  steered 
it  through  the  mad  rush  of  waters  until,  after  a  perilous 
course  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  it  cleared  the  roaring  and. 
foaming  rapids  and  glided  out  upon  the  smooth  current 
below.  The  Indians,  who  had  been  watching  the  boat 
with  great  astonishment,  were  filled  with  superstitious 
reverence  for  the  brave  leader  who  the3^  thought  must 
be  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Great  Spirit  in 
escaping  the  bullets,  and.  in  taking  his  companions 
safely  down  the  rapids  that  had  never  before  been 
passed. 

The  rangers  were  kept  very  active  in  reconnoitring 
in  every  direction,  for  General  Abercrombie  was  con- 
tinually in  fear  of  a  descent  upon  him  by  Montcalm. 
The  French  commander,  however,  made  no  forward 
movement  from  Ticonderoga  with  his  whole  army,  but 
sent  out  frequent  war  parties  to  watch  the  English.  A 
detachment,  which  was  commanded  by  L,a  Corne,  left 
the  French  camp  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  and,  on  the 
27th  of  the  month,  surprised  and  plundered  a  large 
waggon  train  on  the  Fort  Edward  road.  As  soon  as  the 
news  of  the  disaster  reached  Abercrombie,  he  ordered 
Rogers,  with  a  force  of  provincials,  light  infantry,  and 
rangers,  to  hasten  down  Lake  George  in  boats,  cross 
the  mountains  to  the  narrow  part  of  Eake  Champlain, 
and  intercept  the  plunderers.  Israel  Putnam  was  one 
of  these  pursuers.  They  numbered  seven  hundred 
men  in  all,  and  set  out  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 


i758]  A  Prisoner  87 

with  all  possible  speed;  but  they  were  too  late.  "  The 
enemy  had  got  their  canoes  and  gone  off,"  says  Captain 
Holmes,  a  Connecticut  officer,  "  though  not  so  far  but 
that  our  men  heard  their  shouting,  but  could  not  come 
up  to  them." 

Abercrombie,  having  learned  that  other  French 
parties  were  hovering  about  Fort  Edward,  sent  a 
special  messenger  to  Rogers  to  cut  them  off.  "  I  was 
met,"  writes  the  latter,  who,  on  July  31st,  was  return- 
ing to  camp  after  the  enemy  under  La  Corne  had  escaped 
him,  "  by  an  express  from  the  General  with  orders  to 
march  with  seven  hundred  men  to  South  and  East  Bay 
and  return  by  way  of  Fort  Edward."  Rogers  accord- 
ingly turned  back  and  made  his  way  to  South  Bay. 
There  he  separated  his  party  into  two  equal  divisions, 
one  of  which  was  left  under  the  command  of  Putnam 
at  South  Bay,  while  he  himself,  with  the  other,  took  up 
a  position  twelve  miles  distant.  A  few  days  later,  find- 
ing that  their  stations  were  discovered  by  the  enemy's 
scouts,  the  two  leaders  reunited  their  forces,  and  started 
for  Fort  Edward.  The  men  marched  through  the  forest 
in  three  divisions  by  files ;  Rogers  commanded  the  right, 
Dalzell  the  centre,  and  Putnam  the  left.  On  August 
7th,  the  party  reached  the  place  where  Whitehall  now 
stands,  and  after  advancing  ten  miles  farther  south, 
encamped  for  the  coming  night  on  the  bank  of  the 
Clear  River,  a  fork  of  Wood  Creek,  before  its  junction 
with  East  Creek,  and  within  a  mile  of  Fort  Anne. 

On  the  next  morning,  Rogers,  who  was  usually  ex- 
tremely careful  to  avoid  all  possibility  of  alarming  the 
enemy,  so  far  forgot  himself,  after  seeing  no  signs  of  a 
hostile  force  in  the  vicinity,  that  he  and  lieutenant 
Irwin,  of  the  light  infantry,  indulged  in  firing  at  a 
mark  on   a  wager.     "  Nothing,"    says   Humphreys, 


88  Israel  Putnam  [1758 

"  could  have  been  more  repugnant  to  the  military 
principles  of  Putnam  than  such  conduct,  or  reprobated 
by  him  in  more  pointed  terms."  The  incautious 
amusement  was  dearly  bought,  for  four  hundred  and 
fifty  French  and  Indians  were  not  far  away.  They 
were  commanded  by  Montcalm's  leading  partisan, 
Marin.  Immediately  after  the  sound  reached  their 
ears,  the  enemy  reconnoitred  and  arranged  themselves 
in  ambush.  The  trees  for  nearly  a  mile  from  the 
abandoned  fort  had  formerly  been  hewn  down  and 
burned,  and  the  open  tract,  being  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  thickets,  was  traversed  only  by  a  narrow 
Indian  path.  Across  this  path,  Marin's  men  lay  in  a 
semicircle,  prepared  to  surprise  the  English  party  as  it 
approached  in  single  file. 

About  seven  o'clock,  on  this  morning  of  August  8th, 
after  the  wager  had  been  decided  and  while  the  bushes 
were  still  wet  with  the  heavy  dew  of  the  night,  the 
unsuspicious  English  decamped. 

"We  began  our  march,"  Rogers  writes,  "Major  Putnam 
with  a  party  of  Provincials  marching  in  the  front,  my  Rangers 
in  the  rear,  Capt.  Dalzell  with  the  regulars  in  the  centre,  the 
other  officers  suitably  disposed  among  the  men,  being  in  num- 
ber 530,  exclusive  of  officers,  a  number  having  by  leave  returned 
home  the  day  before." 

Putnam,  at  the  head  of  the  long  and  narrow  line,  and 
with  the  Connecticut  men  under  his  immediate  com- 
mand, had  proceeded  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  and  was 
just  emerging  from  the  thicket-growth  to  enter  the 
forest  beyond,  when  yells  and  whoops  rent  the  air,  and 
the  enemy  began  a  furious  onslaught.  The  surprised 
but  undaunted  Major  halted,  returned  the  fire,  and 
passed  the  word  for  the  other  divisions  to  advance  to 


1758]  A  Prisoner  89 

his  support.  "  I  brought  my  people  into  as  good 
order  as  possible,"  says  Rogers,  who  was  some  distance 
behind,  "  Capt.  Dalzell  in  the  centre,  and  the  rangers 
on  the  right,  with  Col.  Partridge's  light  infantry  ;  on 
the  left  was  Capt.  Gidding's,  of  the  Boston  troops,  with 
his  people."  * 

Meanwhile,  a  large  and  powerful  Caughnawaga  chief 
had  sprung  upon  the  brave  leader  at  the  front.  In  the 
fierce  hand-to-hand  fight,  Putnam  pressed  the  muzzle 
of  his  gun  against  his  assailant's  breast,  but  the  weapon 
missed  fire.  With  a  loud  war-whoop,  the  Indian  war- 
rior clutched  his  defenceless  victim,  and,  brandishing 
his  hatchet  over  him,  compelled  him  to  surrender. 
Putnam  was  dragged  back  into  the  forest  and  lashed 
fast  to  a  tree.  Then  his  captor  returned  to  the 
battle.    The  Connecticut  men,  deprived  of  the  inspiring 


*  Notwithstanding  this  statement  of  Rogers,  in  his  Journal, 
p.  122,  Humphreys,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Israel  Putnam, 
says:  "Rogers  came  not  up;  but,  as  he  declared  afterwards, 
formed  a  circular  file  between  our  party  and  Wood-Creek,  to 
prevent  their  being  taken  in  rear  or  enfiladed.  Successful  as 
he  commonly  was,  his  conduct  did  not  always  pass  without  un- 
favourable imputation.  Notwithstanding,  it  was  a  current  say- 
ing in  the  camp,  '  that  Rogers  always  sent,  but  Putnam  led,  his 
men  to  action,'  yet,  in  justice,  it  ought  to  be  remarked  here, 
that  the  latter  has  never  been  known,  in  relating  the  story  of 
this  day's  disaster,  to  affix  any  stigma  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
former." 

Parkman,  in  commenting  on  this  passage,  says  in  his  Mont- 
calm and  Wolfe:  "Humphreys,  the  biographer  of  Putnam, 
blames  Rogers  severely  for  not  coming  at  once  to  the  aid  of  the 
Connecticut  men  ;  but  two  of  their  captains  declare  that  he 
came  with  all  possible  speed ;  while  a  regular  officer  present, 
highly  praised  him  to  Abercrombie  for  cool  and  officer-like 
conduct.  Letter  from  the  Camp  at  Lake  George,  5  Sept.,  1758, 
signed  by  Captains  Maynard  and  Giddiugs." 


90  Israel  Putnam  [i75s 

presence  of  their  principal  officer,  had  retreated  among 
the  thickets  in  confusion,  but  were  soon  reinforced  by 
the  men  who  had  pressed  their  way  through  the  bushes 
and  briery  undergrowth  from  the  rear.  Having  quickly 
rallied  with  this  aid,  they  checked  the  advancing 
enemy.  Indeed,  they  succeeded  in  forcing  them  back 
beyond  the  spot  where  the  action  had  begun.  Owing 
to  this  change  of  battle-ground,  the  tree  to  which  Put- 
nam was  tied  was  directly  between  the  fires  of  the  com- 
batants. The  account  by  Humphreys  of  the  prisoner's 
perilous  experiences  is  of  special  interest,  not  only  be- 
cause he  had  the  facts  from  Putnam  himself,  but  also 
because,  as  the  historian  Parkman  says,  he  seems  to 
give  the  story  with  substantial  correctness.  His  ver- 
sion— the  earliest  that  we  have — must  be  the  basis  of 
any  other  account.  Humphreys  describes  Putnam's 
helplessness  during  the  battle  thus  : 

"The  balls  flew  incessantly  from  either  side,  many  struck 
the  tree,  while  some  passed  through  the  sleeves  and  skirts  of 
his  coat.  In  this  state  of  jeopardy,  unable  to  move  his  body, 
or  to  stir  his  limbs,  or  even  to  incline  his  head,  he  remained 
more  than  an  hour.  So  equally  balanced,  and  so  obstinate  was 
the  fight !  At  one  moment,  while  the  battle  swerved  in  favour 
of  the  enemy,  a  young  savage  chose  an  odd  way  of  discovering 
his  humour.  He  found  Putnam  bound.  He  might  have  dis- 
patched him  at  a  blow.  But  he  loved  better  to  excite  the  ter- 
rors of  the  prisoner,  by  hurling  a  tomahawk  at  his  head,  or 
rather  it  should  seem  that  his  object  was  to  see  how  near  he 
could  throw  it  without  touching  him — the  weapon  struck  in  the 
tree  a  number  of  times  at  hair's  breadth  distance  from  the  mark. 
When  the  Indian  had  finished  his  amusement,  a  French  bas- 
oflicer  (a  much  more  inveterate  savage  by  nature,  though  de- 
scended from  so  humane  and  polished  a  nation)  perceiving 
Putnam,  came  up  to  him,  and,  levelling  a  fuzee  within  a  foot 
of  his  breast,  attempted  to  discharge  it — it  missed  fire.  In- 
effectually did  the  intended  victim  solicit  the  treatment  due  to 


TRADITION  SAYS  THIS  IS  THE  TREE  TO  WHICH    PUTNAM   WAS  TIED 
AFTER  HE  WAS  CAPTURED  BY  THE  INDIANS  IN  AUGUST,   1758. 


t758]  A  Prisoner  91 

his  situation  by  repeating  that  he  was  a  prisoner  of  war.  The 
degenerate  Frenchman  did  not  understand  the  language  of 
honour  or  of  nature  :  deaf  to  their  voice,  and  dead  to  sensibility, 
he  violently,  and  repeatedly,  pushed  the  muzzle  of  his  gun 
against  Putnam's  ribs,  and  finally  gave  him  a  cruel  blow  on  the 
jaw  with  the  butt-end  of  his  piece.  After  this  dastardly  deed 
he  left  him." 

In  the  battle  that  raged  not  far  away,  the  scene  of 
which  had  again  shifted,  the  English  were  still  making 
a  heroic  resistance.  Some  of  them  fought  in  open 
view  ;  others  fired  from  behind  trees.  At  last  the 
Canadians  gave  way,  sixty  of  them  deserting  Marin  at 
a  critical  moment.  "  This  somewhat  astonished  the 
Indians,"  according  to  the  French  account  of  the 
battle,  "  and  prevented  that  brave  officer  from  deriving 
all  the  advantage  from  the  circumstance."  Having 
found  that  more  of  his  men  were  leaving  him  and  that 
"  the  English  were  too  numerous  to  be  forced,"  Marin 
ordered  his  wounded  to  be  removed  and  withdrew  all 
his  force.  The  battle  had  lasted  almost  two  hours.* 
Forty-nine  of  the  English  had  been  killed.  It  was  re- 
ported soon  afterwards  that  the  enemy  lost  more  than 
twice  that  number.  The  English  buried  all  their  own 
dead  and  made  litters  of  branches  with  which  to  carry 
their  wounded  comrades.  Then  they  resumed  the 
march  southward  which  had  been  tragically  inter- 
rupted, and  reached  Fort  Edward  the  next  day. 

*  The  principal  authorities  for  the  battle  itself  are  :  Journals 
of  Major  Robert  Rogers,  pp.  121-123  ;  Documents  Relating  to 
the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  vol.  x.;  Malartic, 
Journal du  Regiment  de  Beam  ;  De  Le* vis,  Joiirnal de  la  Guerre 
en  Canada  ;  Recollections  of  Thomas  Maxwell,  a  soldier  present ; 
Historical  Collections  of  the  Essex  Institute,  vol.  vii.,  p.  97; 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  1758,  p.  498;  Letters  from  camp  in 
Boston  Gazette,  No.  117;   New  Hampshire  Gazette •,  No.  104. 


92  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

Putnam  in  the  meantime  was  faring  ill  in  the  hands 
of  savages.  For  his  adventures  in  captivity,  Hum- 
phreys again  is  the  authority.  This  is  the  story  of  what 
happened  at  the  close  of  the  battle,  as  he  recorded  it 
from  the  hero's  own  narration  : 

"  As  they  [the  enemy]  were  retiring,  Putnam  was  untied  by 
the  Indian  who  had  made  him  prisoner,  and  whom  he  after- 
wards called  master.  Having  been  conducted  for  some  distance 
from  the  place  of  action,  he  was  stripped  of  his  coat,  vest, 
stockings  and  shoes  ;  loaded  with  as  many  of  the  packs  of  the 
wounded  as  could  be  piled  upon  him  ;  strongly  pinioned,  and 
his  wrists  tied  as  closely  together  as  they  could  be  pulled  with 
a  cord.  After  he  had  marched  through  no  pleasant  paths  in 
this  painful  manner,  for  many  a  tedious  mile,  the  party  (who 
were  excessively  fatigued)  halted  to  breathe.  His  hands  were 
now  immoderately  swelled  from  the  tightness  of  the  ligature  ; 
and  the  pain  had  become  intolerable.  His  feet  were  so  much 
scratched,  that  the  blood  dropped  fast  from  them.  Exhausted 
with  bearing  a  burden  above  his  strength,  and  frantic  with  tor- 
ments exquisite  beyond  endurance,  he  entreated  the  Irish  in- 
terpreter to  implore,  as  the  last  and  only  grace  he  desired  of  the 
savages,  that  they  would  knock  him  on  the  head  and  take  his 
scalp  at  once,  or  loose  his  hands.  A  French  officer,  instantly 
interposing,  ordered  his  hands  to  be  unbound  and  some  of  the 
packs  to  be  taken  off.  By  this  time  the  Indian  who  captured 
him  and  who  had  been  absent  with  the  wounded,  coming  up, 
gave  him  a  pair  of  moccasins,  and  expressed  great  indignation 
at  the  unworthy  treatment  his  prisoner  had  suffered.  That 
savage  chief  again  returned  to  the  care  of  the  wounded,  and  the 
Indians,  about  two  hundred  in  number,  went  before  the  rest  of 
the  party  to  the  place  where  the  whole  were  that  night  to 
encamp.  They  took  with  them  Major  Putnam,  on  whom,  be- 
sides innumerable  other  outrages,  they  had  the  barbarity  to 
inflict  a  deep  wound  with  a  tomahawk,  in  the  left  cheek." 

The  mark  of  this  blow  Putnam  is  said  to  have  borne 
through  life.  "  A  deep  scar  on  the  cheek  of  that 
veteran  warrior,"  says  Abiel  Holmes  in  his  A?mals  of 


1758]  A  Prisoner  93 

America,  in  referring  to  this  incident,  "  is  well  remem- 
bered by  the  writer,  who  believes  it  was  the  wound 
inflicted  by  the  tomahawk." 

Now  comes  the  most  tragic  scene  of  the  day  in  Put- 
nam's eventful  captivity.  We  can  easily  imagine  the 
absorbing  interest  with  which  Humphreys  listened  to 
the  tale  of  ' '  horror. ' '  He  has  given  us  this  description 
of  what  the  Indians  planned  for  their  victim  : 

"It  was  determined  to  roast  him  alive.  For  this  purpose 
they  led  him  into  a  dark  forest,  stripped  him  naked,  bound 
him  to  a  tree,  and  piled  dry  brush,  with  other  fuel,  at  a  small 
distance,  in  a  circle  round  him.  They  accompanied  their  la- 
bours, as  if  for  his  funeral  dirge,  with  screams  and  sounds  in- 
imitable but  by  savage  voices.  Then  they  set  the  piles  on  fire. 
A  sudden  shower  damped  the  rising  flame.  Still  they  strove  to 
kindle  it,  until,  at  last,  the  blaze  ran  fiercely  round  the  circle. 
Major  Putnam  soon  began  to  feel  the  scorching  heat.  His 
hands  were  so  tied  that  he  could  move  his  body.  He  often 
shifted  sides  as  the  fire  approached.  This  sight,  at  the  very 
idea  of  which  all  but  savages  must  shudder,  afforded  the  high- 
est diversion  to  his  inhuman  tormentors,  who  demonstrated  the 
delirium  of  their  joy  by  correspondent  yells,  dances,  and  gest- 
iculations. He  saw  clearly  that  his  final  hour  was  inevitably 
come.  He  summoned  all  his  resolution  and  composed  his 
mind,  as  far  as  the  circumstances  could  admit,  to  bid  an  eter- 
nal farewell  to  all  he  held  most  dear.  To  quit  the  world  would 
scarcely  have  cost  a  single  pang  but  for  the  idea  of  home,  for 
the  remembrance  of  domestic  endearments,  of  the  affectionate 
partner  of  his  soul,  and  of  their  beloved  offspring." 

On  this  very  day  when  Putnam  was  threatened  by  a 
most  cruel  fate,  when  his  thoughts  turned  towards  his 
wife  and  children,  there  occurred  a  pathetic  coincidence. 
Death  entered  his  distant  home.  The  sad  fact  appears 
on  the  old  gravestone  in  the  cemetery  at  Brooklyn, 
Connecticut; 


94  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

"In  Memory  of  M^  Daniel  Putnam,  son  of  Col?  Israel  Put- 
nam &  Mrs.  Hannah  his  wife,  who  died  Aug.  8th,  1758,  Aged 
17  years." 

Unexpected  deliverance  came  to  Putnam  in  his 
torturous  and  dire  situation,  for — to  continue  the  early 
narrative — 

"a  French  officer  rushed  through  the  crowd,  opened  a  way  by 
scattering  the  burning  brands  and  unbound  the  victim.  It  was 
Molang  [Marin]  himself— to  whom  a  savage,  unwilling  to  see 
another  human  sacrifice  immolated,  had  run  and  communicated 
the  tidings.  That  commandant  spurned  and  severely  repri- 
manded the  barbarians,  whose  nocturnal  powwas  and  hellish 
orgies  he  suddenly  ended.  Putnam  did  not  want  for  feeling  or 
gratitude.  The  French  commander,  fearing  to  trust  him  alone 
with  them,  remained  until  he  could  deliver  him  in  safety  into 
the  hands  of  his  master." 

Judge  Samuel  Putnam,  in  writing  about  this  advent- 
ure which  the  hero  himself  once  recounted  to  him, 
says  that  the  rescuer  was  ' '  one  of  the  tribe,  a  chief 
who  had  once  been  a  prisoner  of  Putnam  and  treated 
kindly  by  him."  This  seems  to  refer  to  the  Indian 
whom  Humphreys  mentions  as  carrying  the  news  to 
Marin  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  forest.  There  is 
an  interesting  tradition  among  Freemasons  that  Put- 
nam, as  a  member  of  the  secret  order,  gave  in  his  great 
peril  the  sign  of  distress,  which,  on  being  recognised  by 
a  person  present  who  belonged  to  the  fraternity,  led  to 
his  rescue. 

The  story  of  how  Putnam  spent  the  night  after  his 
strange  experience  is  told  by  Humphreys  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraph,  in  which  we  learn  that  although  the 
Caughnawaga  chief,  "the  master,"  showed  unusual 
regard  for  his  captive,  he  subjected  him  to  the  ordinary 


1758]  A  Prisoner  95 

Indian  mode  of  securing  prisoners  by  binding  him  in 
the  form  of  a  St.  Andrew's  cross  : 

"The  savage  approached  his  prisoner  kindly,  and  seemed  to 
treat  him  with  particular  affection.  He  offered  him  some  hard 
biscuit ;  but  finding  that  he  could  not  chew  them,  on  account 
of  the  blow  he  had  received  from  the  Frenchman,  this  more 
humane  savage  soaked  some  of  the  biscuit  in  water,  and  made 
him  suck  the  pulp-like  part.  Determined,  however,  not  to 
lose  his  captive  (the  refreshment  being  finished)  he  took  the 
moccasins  from  his  feet  and  tied  them  to  one  of  his  wrists ; 
then  directing  him  to  lie  down  on  his  back  upon  the  bare 
ground,  he  stretched  one  arm  to  its  full  length,  and  bound  it 
fast  to  a  young  tree  ;  the  other  arm  was  extended  and  bound  in 
the  same  manner — his  legs  were  stretched  apart  and  fastened 
to  two  saplings.  Then  a  number  of  tall  but  slender  poles  were 
cut  down,  which,  with  some  long  bushes,  were  laid  across  his 
body  from  head  to  foot ;  on  each  side  lay  as  many  Indians  as 
could  conveniently  find  lodging,  in  order  to  prevent  the  possi- 
bility of  his  escape.  In  this  disagreeable  and  painful  posture 
he  remained  until  morning.  During  this  night,  the  longest 
and  most  dreary  conceivable,  our  hero  used  to  relate  that  he 
felt  a  ray  of  cheerfulness  come  casually  across  his  mind,  and 
could  not  even  refrain  from  smiling  when  he  reflected  on  this 
ludicrous  group  for  a  painter,  of  which  he  himself  was  the 
principal  figure." 

Putnam's  journey  on  August  9th  with  his  captor  and 
his  arrival  at  the  French  fort  are  recorded  by  Hum- 
phreys thus  : 

"The  next  day  he  was  allowed  his  blanket  and  moccasins 
and  permitted  to  march  without  carrying  any  pack  or  receiv- 
ing any  insult.  To  allay  his  extreme  hunger,  a  little  bear's 
meat  was  given,  which  he  sucked  through  his  teeth.  At  night 
the  party  arrived  at  Ticouderoga  aud  the  prisoner  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  a  French  guard.  The  savages,  who  had  been 
prevented  from  glutting  their  diabolical  thirst  for  blood,  took 
every  opportunity  of  manifesting  their  malevolence  for  the 
disappointment  by  horrid  grimaces  and  angry  gestures  ;  but 


96  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

they  were  suffered  no  more  to  offer  violence  or  personal  indig- 
nity to  him." 

Within  a  week  after  Putnam  was  captured,  the  gar- 
rison at  Fort  Edward  received  news  of  him  and  other 
prisoners, according  to  Captain  David  Holmes's  Orderly 
Book  :  "  Aug.  14.  By  a  flag  of  truce,  informed  that 
Major  Putnam,  Lieut.  Tracy  and  3  others,  were  carried 
without  wounds  into  Fort  Caroline  [Ticonderoga]." 
But  Holmes  —  a  friend  of  Putnam,  and  he  was  also  an 
officer  from  the  same  colony — and  the  other  soldiers 
did  not  hear  at  that  time  of  the  brutal  treatment  which 
their  brave  Connecticut  comrade  had  undergone. 

Into  the  presence  of  Montcalm  Putnam  was  led  at 
Ticonderoga.  Each  must  have  regarded  the  other  with 
special  interest.  Here  was  the  commander  about 
whom  Putnam  had  heard  so  much,  the  ablest  French 
general  in  America,  who  is  described  as  "  a  man  of 
small  stature,  rapid,  vehement  utterance,  and  nervous 
gesticulation."  As  for  the  prisoner  whom  Montcalm 
saw  before  him,  his  tattered,  scratched,  scorched,  and 
bruised  condition  plainly  told  of  the  painful  experiences 
through  which  he  had  passed.  After  being  questioned, 
Putnam  was  given  into  the  custody  of  a  French  officer, 
who  received  orders  to  conduct  him  to  Montreal.  On 
the  journey  thither,  the  Frenchman  treated  his  charge 
with  the  "  greatest  indulgence  and  humanity." 

Among  the  English  prisoners  already  at  Montreal 
was  Colonel  Peter  Schuyler  of  New  Jersey,  who,  as  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  arrival  of  a  provincial  major  recently 
taken,  went  to  the  interpreter's  quarters  and  inquired 
solicitously  about  him. 

"He  found  Major  Putnam,"  says  Humphreys,  "in  a  com- 
fortless condition— without  coat,  waistcoat,  or  hose — the  rem- 
nant of  his  clothing  miserably  dirty  and  ragged — his  beard  long 


1758]  A  Prisoner  97 

and  squalid — his  legs  torn  by  thorns  and  briars — his  face  gashed 
with  wounds  and  swollen  with  bruises." 


Colonel  Schuyler  was  not  only  indignant  on  finding 
his  fellow-prisoner  in  such  a  sorry  plight,  but  also 
showed  his  sympathy  for  him  at  once,  attending  per- 
sonally to  his  needs  by  supplying  him  with  clothing 
and  money. 

The  weariness  of  captivity  was  relieved  for  Putnam 
at  Montreal  by  the  privilege  of  staying  at  the  house  of 
Colonel  Schuyler,  whose  wealth  and  military  rank 
were  respected  by  the  French  by  special  favours.  But 
Putnam  was  soon  transferred  to  Quebec.  He  was 
there  the  last  of  August,  according  to  a  letter  written 
from  Quebec  on  the  31st  of  that  month  by  a  French 
officer,  who  in  speaking  of  the  English  whom  Marin 
had  captured  on  the  8th  said,  ' '  Two  of  them,  officers, 
are  now  here." 

The  military  affairs  of  the  English  took  a  very  favour- 
able turn  during  the  campaign.  The  summer  was 
almost  ended  when  Abercrombie's  army,  near  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  George,  was  cheered  not  only 
by  tidings  of  the  fall  of  Louisbourg  but  also  by  the 
"glorious  piece  of  news"  that  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Bradstreet,  who  had  been  sent  against  Fort  Frontenac 
on  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  had  reduced 
that  important  French  post  on  August  27th.  How 
soon  Putnam  himself  heard  of  these  English  successes 
we  do  not  know.  The  surrender  of  Fort  Frontenac 
proved  of  much  importance  to  him  personally,  for  his 
own  release  was  the  consequence. 

In  October,  1758,  General  Abercrombie  and  the 
Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of  Canada,  were  in 
correspondence    in    regard    to    an    exchange   of   the 


98  Israel   Putnam  [i758 

prisoners.  It  was  decided  that  Colonel  Schuyler,  who 
was  himself  to  be  exchanged  for  De  Noyan,  the  cap- 
tured commandant  of  Fort  Frontenac,  should  be  en- 
trusted with  the  arrangement  of  all  details  on  the 
English  side. 

"I  am  pleased,  Sir,"  wrote  Vaudreuil  to  Abercrombie  on 
October  19th  from  Montreal,  "that  you  have  authorised  Colonel 
Schuyler  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  the  prisoners  in  question 
with  me.  I  have  written  to  him  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  go  to 
town  for  that  purpose  ;  he  will  be  present  himself  at  Quebec."  * 

Two  weeks  later,  when  the  list  of  English  prisoners  to 
be  exchanged  had  been  made  out,  the  same  writer  said 
in  a  letter  to  a  French  official,  "  I  have  paid  particular 
attention  to  retaining  those  who  appeared  to  me  the 
most  suspicious." 

But  Vaudreuil  had  unwittingly  consented  to  the 
liberation  of  one  who  had  been  of  invaluable  service  to 
the  English.  Putnam's  name  was  on  the  list  by  a 
stratagem  of  the  officer  who  had  already  befriended 
him  in  need.  This  is  Humphreys's  story  of  Sch^der's 
"  justifiable  finesse  "  : 

"Apprehensive  if  it  should  be  known  that  Putnam  was  a  dis- 
tinguished partisan  his  liberation  might  be  retarded,  and  know- 
ing that  there  were  officers  who,  from  the  length  of  their 
captivity,  had  a  claim  of  priority  to  exchange,  he  had  by  his 
happy  address  induced  the  governor  to  offer  that  whatever 
officer  he  might  think  proper  to  nominate  should  be  included 
in  the  present  cartel.  With  great  politeness  in  manner,  but 
seeming  indifference  as  to  object,  he  expressed  his  warmest 
acknowledgments  to  the  governor  and  said,  'There  is  an  old 
man  here  who  is  a  Provincial  Major,  and  wishes  to  be  at  home 
with  his  wife  and  children  ;  he  can  do  no  good  here  or  any- 


*  Documents  relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York, 
vol.  x. 


1758] 


A  Prisoner  99 


where  else  ;  I  believe  your  Excellency  had  better  keep  some  of 
the  young  men,  who  have  no  wife  or  children  to  care  for,  and 
let  the  old  fellow  go  home  with  me.'  " 

The  aged  prisoner  whose  freedom  was  thus  obtained 
was  just  forty  years  old  ! 

Nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  including  offi- 
cers, soldiers,  sailors,  labourers,  women,  and  children, 
were  to  be  exchanged  by  the  French  for  an  equal  num- 
ber of  their  own  countrymen.*  Colonel  Schuyler  with 
some  of  the  liberated  prisoners  preceded  the  others  on 
the  way  back  to  Fort  Edward,  but  before  he  set  out 
from  Montreal  he  commended  to  Putnam's  care  on  the 
homeward  journey  Mrs.  Jemima  Howe  and  her  child- 
ren. This  New  England  widow,  whose  husband, 
Caleb  Howe,  was  murdered  by  Indians  in  1755,  had 
been,  like  many  other  persons  in  captivity,  the  object  of 
Schuyler's  special  sympathy  and  charity,  and  welcomed 
at  his  house.  It  was  there  that  Putnam  became  ac- 
quainted with  her.  He  heard  from  Mrs.  Howe's  own 
lips  her  pathetic  story:  how,  on  a  July  evening  three 
years  before,  she,  with  her  seven  children,  one  an  in- 
fant of  six  months,  and  the  wives  of  Hilkiah  Grout 
and  Benjamin  Gaffield,  with  their  own  little  ones, 
were  in  the  fort  in  which  the  three  families  lived  at 
Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire  ;  how,  while  they  were  ex- 
pecting their  husbands  home  from  the  day's  work  in 
the  cornfield,  they  were  startled  by  the  firing  of  guns  ; 
how  they  soon  heard  footsteps  approaching  and  thought 
the  men  were  returning  ;  how  they  hastily  opened  the 


*  In  the  "List  of  English  prisoners  who  are  going  up  from 
Quebec  to  Montreal  to  contribute  to  the  exchange,"  which  may 
be  found  among  the  New  York  colonial  manuscripts,  Putnam's 
name  is  curiously  spelled  thus  :  "  Polman,  Captain-Major  in  the 
New  England  Regiment." 


ioo  Israel  Putnam  [i758 

gate  to  receive  them,  but  only  to  find  to  their  utter  and 
dreadful  surprise  that  they  had  admitted  savages;  then 
the  piteous  sequel,  how  all  in  the  fort  were  hurried 
away  captives,  and  compelled  to  travel  on  foot  to  Can- 
ada by  way  of  Crown  Point, —  how  she  was  herself 
separated  from  her  children  and  sold  to  a  French  officer 
named  Saccapee,  who  as  well  as  his  son  treated  her  dis- 
honourably ;  finally,  how  Colonel  Schuyler,  to  whom 
she  applied  for  help,  succeeded  in  obtaining  not  only 
her  own  freedom  but  also  that  of  three  of  her  sons,  and 
how  two  more  children  were  restored  to  her. 

In  November  Putnam  started  homeward  with  the 
family  entrusted  to  him.  The  younger  Saccapee  is 
said  to  have  followed  them  a  part  of  the  way,  much  to 
the  alarm  of  Mrs.  Howe.  She  was,  however,  gallantly 
defended,  for  Putnam  "  informed  the  young  officer 
that  he  should  protect  that  lady  at  the  risk  of  his  life." 
Of  the  same  guardian  on  that  long  journey  from  Can- 
ada "  through  an  inhospitable  wilderness,"  we  have 
this  picture  in  Humphreys's  quaint  style  : 

"There  were  a  thousand  good  offices  which  the  helplessness 
of  her  [Mrs.  Howe's]  condition  demanded,  and  which  the 
gentleness  of  his  nature  delighted  to  perform.  He  assisted  in 
leading  her  little  ones,  and  in  carrying  them  over  the  swampy 
grounds  and  runs  of  water  with  which  their  course  was  fre- 
quently intersected.  He  mingled  his  own  mess  with  that  of 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  and  assisted  them  in  supplying 
and  preparing  their  provisions.  Upon  arriving  within  the 
settlements  they  experienced  a  reciprocal  regret  at  separation, 
and  were  only  consoled  by  the  expectation  of  soon  mingling 
in  the  embraces  of  their  former  acquaintances  and  dearest 
connections." 

That  was  an  affectionate  reunion  indeed  in  Putnam's 
own  home.     If  the  wife  had  already  heard  that  her 


1758]  A  Prisoner  101 

soldier  husband  had  been  taken  prisoner,  how  full  of 
intense  suspense  must  the  hours  and  days  have  been 
for  her.  Even  if  the  news  of  his  great  misfortune  had 
not  reached  her,  her  heart  had  been  heavy  with  solici- 
tude for  his  safety.  With  the  gladness  of  Putnam's 
return  was  mingled  sorrow  for  the  missing  one,  and 
now  he  heard  the  details  of  Daniel's  illness  and  death. 
We  can  see  the  family  group, — the  hero  with  his  wife 
by  his  side,  little  Eunice  in  his  arms,  and  gathered 
about  him  the  four  young  girls  and  sturdy  lad  Israel. 
Eagerly  must  Putnam  have  listened  to  what  had  hap- 
pened in  his  absence  ;  and  often  during  the  winter,  his 
adventures  in  the  memorable  campaign  must  have 
been  the  subject  of  breathless  attention  in  the  home 
circle  and  at  the  neighbouring  firesides. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THREE  MORE  CAMPAIGNS 


1759-176: 


^^^HOTWITHSTANDING  his  severe  ex- 
penences,  Putnam  was  ready  to  accept 
his  appointment  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  his  colony  as  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  in  the  Fourth  Regiment 
(Colonel  Fitch's),  which,  together 
with  the  other  Connecticut  troops,  was  to  be  employed, 
in  1759,  in  another  expedition  against  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point.  The  Commander-in-chief  for  the 
new  campaign  was  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst,  who  had  been 
so  successful  in  capturing  Louisbourg.  It  was  decided 
that  General  James  Wolfe  should  advance  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  lay  siege  to  Quebec  as  soon  as  the  river 
was  free  from  ice,  and  that  Amherst  himself,  after  lead- 
ing the  grand  central  advance  against  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  should  proceed  with  his  army  down  the 
Richelieu  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  join  Wolfe  before  the 
walls  of  Quebec.  In  May,  Putnam  must  have  been  at 
Albany,  for  the  soldiers  gathered  during  that  month  at 
this  rendezvous  of  former  years.  Before  the  1st  of 
July,  General  Amherst  had  advanced  with  about 
eleven  thousand  men,  half  regulars  and  half  provin- 

102 


[1759-60      Three  More  Campaigns  103 

cials,  to  the  southern  end  of  Lake  George.  There  the 
troops  were  busily  employed  in  cutting  down  and  burn- 
ing trees  on  both  sides  of  the  Fort  Edward  road  ;  in 
building  fortified  posts  along  it  at  intervals  of  three  or 
four  miles,  especially  at  the  station  known  as  Half-way 
Brook  ;  in  beginning  a  fort  on  the  low,  flat,  rocky  hill 
where,  during  the  siege  of  Fort  William  Henry,  the 
English  had  an  intrenched  camp;  in  transporting  stores 
and  cannon  from  Fort  Edward  ;  and  in  constructing 
bateaux  and  other  craft  for  the  expedition.  Some  of 
this  varied  work  was  assigned  to  the  Connecticut  regi- 
ment, of  which  Israel  Putnam  was  second  in  command. 

The  English  remained  nearly  a  month  at  the  head  of 
Lake  George  before  moving  forward.  On  the  morning 
of  July  2 1  st,  the  whole  army  embarked  for  Ticonderoga. 
And  now  Israel  Putnam  witnessed  an  imposing  spec- 
tacle similar  to  that  of  the  preceding  year.  Again  the 
banners  and  music  and  arms  and  uniforms  made  a 
brilliant  military  pageant,  as  the  great  flotilla  moved 
over  the  blue  surface  of  the  lake  amid  the  picturesque 
summer  scenery.  When  the  day  drew  to  a  close,  the 
troops  had  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  outlet.  There 
they  passed  a  disagreeable  night,  being  tossed  on  the 
waves  raised  by  a  summer  gale.  The  next  day  the 
army  "  landed  without  opposition,"  according  to  Gen- 
eral Amherst,  "  and  proceeded  to  the  Saw  Mills,  and 
took  post  on  the  commanding  grounds,  meeting  only  a 
trifling  opposition  from  the  enemy."  "  We  lay  on  our 
arms  all  night,"  adds  the  Commander-in-chief,  "  and 
early  on  the  23rd  we  continued  our  march." 

Soon  the  English  reached  the  famous  works  before 
which  Abercrombie's  army  had  been  terribly  repulsed 
the  year  before.  The  French  now  made  no  attempt 
to  defend  the  line  of  intrenchment  which  had  been 


io4  Israel  Putnam  [i759- 

reconstructed  partly  of  earth  and  partly  of  logs,  but  re- 
treated within  the  fort  beyond  and  opened  fire  from 
there.  The  English,  however,  found  protection  from 
the  guns  by  encamping  along  the  front  of  the  intrench- 
ment  which  the  French  had  abandoned. 

Israel  Putnam  commanded  in  person  some  of  the  pro- 
vincials who  were  employed  in  bringing  up  the  artillery 
and  stores.  He  must  have  been  impressed  by  the  con- 
trast between  the  present  method  of  moving  against 
Ticonderoga  and  that  adopted  the  summer  before  by 
Abercrombie.  The  prudent  and  resolute  Amherst, 
aware  of  the  principal  causes  of  his  predecessor's  fail- 
ure, carefully  reconnoitred  the  French  position  and 
waited  until  his  cannon  and  requisite  munitions  of  war 
had  arrived.     Then  he  began  approaches  in  form. 

The  enemy's  force,  which  numbered  between  two  and 
three  thousand  men,  was  commanded  by  the  Chevalier 
de  Bourlamaque.  On  the  night  of  July  23rd,  this 
French  officer  suddenly  retreated  with  the  main  body 
of  his  troops  down  Lake  Champlain,  leaving  several 
hundred  men  within  the  fort  to  keep  up  a  brisk  fire 
with  cannon  and  mortars  on  the  English.  Meanwhile, 
the  besiegers  were  busily  engaged  in  preparations  for 
an  assault.  Putnam  was  one  of  the  most  active  officers 
in  driving  forward  the  works. 

On  the  night  of  July  26th,  after  the  batteries  were 
finished  and  were  in  readiness  to  open  at  break  of 
day,  three  French  deserters  arrived  in  the  English 
camp,  excitedly  announcing  that  the  garrison  was 
abandoning  Ticonderoga  and  that  a  slow  match  at- 
tached to  the  magazine  was  already  lighted  to  blow  the 
fort  to  atoms.  The  report  of  the  retreat  was  not  alto- 
gether a  surprise,  for  a  suspicious  movement  of  the 
garrison  had  been  detected  at  dusk.     Before  midnight 


i76i]  Three  More  Campaigns  105 

the  explosion  occurred.  The  glaring  flash  and  terrific 
roar  were  succeeded  by  a  brief,  breathless  interval  ; 
then  came  the  sound  of  fragments,  which  had  been 
hurled  into  the  air,  falling  on  the  ground  and  into 
the  lake.  Only  one  bastion,  however,  had  been  blown 
up  The  main  part  of  the  fort  was  little  injured,  but 
the  barracks  and  other  inflammable  portions  had 
caught  fire. 

As  soon  as  the  powder  magazine  had  spent  itself, 
Amherst  ordered  men  forward  into  the  fort,  but,  ac- 
cording to  one  of  them,  "  three-fourths"  of  the  bar- 
racks were  burnt  "  before  we  could  extinguish  the 
flames."  With  what  great  interest  Israel  Putnam 
must  have  examined  the  redoubted  stronghold  which 
had  at  last  been  captured  !  Soldiers  were  immediately 
set  to  work  repairing  the  damages  from  the  explosion 
and  rebuilding  the  parts  of  the  fort  destroyed  by  the 
fire,  and  Putnam  was  given  the  oversight  of  some  of 
these  labourers. 

Within  a  week  after  entering  Ticonderoga,  the  Eng- 
lish were  informed  by  scouts  that  the  French  had 
abandoned  Crown  Point  also.  Amherst  accordingly 
advanced  to  that  place  with  a  part  of  his  army.  He 
planned  at  once  for  new  works  there,  because  the  French 
fort,  built  many  years  before,  was  so  dilapidated  that 
it  seemed  unwise  to  repair  it.  He  chose  a  more  com- 
manding site,  about  six  hundred  feet  south-west  of  the 
old  fort,  and  began  an  extensive  stronghold,  the  ruins 
of  which  may  still  be  seen.  In  this  task,  Israel  Put- 
nam, who  had  accompanied  the  force  from  Ticon- 
deroga, was  employed  during  the  remainder  of  the 
summer  and  into  the  autumn,  superintending  the 
parties  which  were  detached  to  procure  timber  and 
other  materials  for  the  fortification. 


io6  Israel  Putnam 


['759- 


While  the  army  was  busily  occupied  in  building  and 
strengthening  the  strongholds  on  Lake  George,  rumours 
of  the  success  of  other  English  expeditions  of  1759  were 
confirmed.  Israel  Putnam  now  heard  in  more  detail 
how  General  Prideaux  had  been  killed  in  the  trenches 
by  a  cannon-ball,  while  his  army  was  besieging  Fort 
Niagara;  how  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  command,  had  routed,  on  July  24th,  a  reinforce- 
ment sent  to  the  relief  of  the  French  garrison,  and  how 
on  the  next  day  he  had  captured  the  fort.  Soon  came 
more  thrilling  tidings,  how  the  gallant  Wolfe,  with 
nearly  five  thousand  men,  had  scaled  the  Heights  of 
Abraham  on  the  night  of  September  12th  ;  how  the 
astonished  Montcalm,  beholding  at  dawn  the  ranks  of 
redcoats  on  the  Plains,  had  ordered  his  troops  into 
action  that  morning  ;  how  in  the  fierce  pitched  battle, 
Wolfe,  like  Montcalm,  had  fallen  mortally  wounded, 
and  how  victory  had  finally  crowned  the  English  arms 
at  Quebec.  The  French  possessions  in  Canada  were 
reduced  in  1759  to  the  narrow  strip  of  territory  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  between  Jacques  Cartier  and  Kingston. 
The  only  important  posts  remaining  for  the  English  to 
capture  were  Montreal  and  Isle-aux-Noix,  but  all  at- 
tempts against  these  places  were  postponed  to  the  next 
campaign. 

When  military  operations  were  suspended  for  the 
winter,  Putnam  returned  home.  His  infant  son,  born 
November  18th  of  this  year  (1759),  was  named  Daniel, 
in  tender  memory  of  that  other  son  Daniel  who  died 
on  the  eventful  August  day,  fifteen  months  before, 
when  the  father  himself  was  face  to  face  with  death. 

The  campaign  of  1760  opened  auspiciously  for  the 
English.  Encouraged  by  the  successes  of  the  preced- 
ing year,  the  colonists  in  general  felt  that  the  final 


i76i]  Three  More  Campaigns  107 

blow  against  the  French  power  in  Canada  would  soon 
be  struck.  They  responded,  therefore,  more  readily  to 
the  call  for  troops.  General  Amherst,  still  Commander- 
in-chief  of  all  the  English  troops  in  America,  received 
instructions  early  in  1760  from  King  George  to  proceed 
to  the  vigorous  attack  of  Montreal.  He  accordingly 
planned  to  concentrate  his  forces  from  three  directions, 
east,  south,  and  west,  for  the  "  great  and  essential  ob- 
ject." General  James  Murray,  who  after  the  death  of 
Wolfe  had  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  army  at 
Quebec,  was  to  advance  up  the  St.  Lawrence  River  from 
that  captured  city;  at  the  same  time,  Brigadier-General 
William  Haviland  w7as  to  take  the  Lake  Champlain 
course  to  Montreal,  which  Amherst  had  attempted  in 
the  preceding  campaign,  and  reduce  Isle-aux-Noix  on 
the  way  ;  meanwhile  the  Commander-in-chief  himself 
was  to  lead  the  main  army  down  the  St  Lawrence  from 
Lake  Ontario,  and  join  Murray  and  Haviland  in  front 
of  Montreal. 

The  Connecticut  troops  formed  a  part  of  the  force 
which  Amherst  commanded  in  person.  The  soldiers 
for  this  expedition  began  to  assemble  in  May  at  Al- 
bany. There  Putnam  arrived  from  Pom  fret  after  the 
few  weeks  spent  at  home.  The  route  of  Amherst's 
men  was  from  Albany  to  Schenectady,  up  the  Mohawk 
River  to  Fort  Stanwix  on  the  Great  Carrying  Place, 
across  Oneida  Lake  and  down  the  Onondaga  River  to 
Oswego.  It  was  two  months  from  the  time  that  the 
first  troops  left  Albany  in  June  until  all  of  them  reached 
the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  and  were  ready  to  embark. 
They  numbered  more  than  ten  thousand  in  all. 

On  August  7th,  the  first  division  of  the  army  left 
Oswego,  led  by  Colonel  Haldimand.  Two  days  later 
General  Amherst   set   out   with   the  second   division, 


108  Israel  Putnam  [i75o- 

consisting  of  the  Royal  Artillery,  regulars,  and  some  of 
the  Indians.  The  rest  of  the  troops  followed  on  August 
1 2th.  Putnam  was  in  this  last  division.  It  included 
eight  battalions  of  provincials  from  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Connecticut,  and  was  under  Brigadier- 
General  Thomas  Gage.  Between  this  officer  and  Israel 
Putnam  there  grew  up  a  friendship  which  extended 
into  the  American  Revolution,  although  in  the  latter 
war  Gage  was  general-in-chief  on  the  British  side. 

On  the  morning  of  August  15th,  the  three  divisions 
of  the  army  afloat  neared  the  north-eastern  end  of  L,ake 
Ontario.  There  they  encountered  the  French  vessel 
Ottawa.  She  appears  to  have  been  the  second  war-ship 
to  threaten  destruction  to  the  English  force  after  it 
entered  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  When  the  first  one, 
which  mounted  twelve  guns,  hove  in  sight  on  August 
1 6th,  General  Amherst  was  in  great  distress.  His  own 
armed  vessels,  under  Captain  Coring,  had  lingered  be- 
hind, having  become  bewildered  among  the  channels 
of  the  Thousand  Islands  ;  and  the  enemy's  ship  was 
capable  of  making  serious  havoc  among  the  bateaux 
and  whaleboats.  In  this  emergency,  Putnam's  in- 
genuity and  daring  were  of  great  service  to  his  com- 
mander, according  to  the  following  anecdote  quoted 
from  AlmorCs  Remembrancer  tor  1775: 

"While  he  [Amherst]  was  pondering  what  should  be  done, 
Putnam  comes  to  him  and  says,  *  General,  that  ship  must  be 
taken.'  '  Aye,'  says  Amherst,  '  I  would  give  the  world  she  was 
taken.'  'I  '11  take  her,'  says  Putnam.  Amherst  smiled  and 
asked  how?  'Give  me  some  wedges,  a  beetle  (a  large  wood 
hammer  or  maul,  used  for  driving  wedges),  and  a  few  men  of 
my  own  choice.'  Amherst  could  not  conceive  how  an  armed 
vessel  was  to  be  taken  by  four  or  five  men,  a  beetle,  and  wedges. 
However,  he  granted  Putnam's  request.  When  night  came, 
Putnam,  with  his  materials  and  men,  went  in  a  boat  under  the 


1761]  Three  More  Campaigns  109 

vessel's  steru  and  in  an  instant  drove  in  the  wedges  behind  the 
rudder  in  the  little  cavity  between  the  rudder  and  ship  and  left 
her.  In  the  morning  the  sails  were  seen  fluttering  about ;  she 
was  adrift  in  the  middle  of  the  lake,  and  beiag  presently  blown 
ashore  was  easily  taken." 

This  anecdote  of  the  beetle  and  wedges  is  considered 
reliable  by  John  Fiske  *;  and  other  trustworthy  Ameri- 
can historians  are  of  the  same  opinion.  The  ship, 
which  was  thus  disabled  in  the  night  by  the  bold  pro- 
vincial officer,  is  said  to  have  surrendered  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  thousand  men  whom  Putnam  had  ordered 
to  move  swiftly  forward  in  fifty  bateaux  in  order  to 
board  her. 

On  the  same  morning  the  other  French  war-ship,  the 
Ottawa,  was  attacked  by  the  English  and  captured. 
Although  Putnam's  name  is  not  mentioned  in  the  ac- 
counts of  this  victory,  he  doubtless  took  some  part  in 
it.  He  seems  to  have  at  least  planned  to  wedge  the 
rudder  of  the  Ottawa  also  ;  and  the  naval  success  had 
been  made  possible  by  the  capture  of  the  first  ship. 

The  surrender  of  the  two  French  vessels  uncovered 
Fort  Levis,  which  had  been  built  the  year  before.  It 
stood  on  Isle  Roy  ale  in  the  midchannel  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  near  the  head  of  the  rapids,  a  short  distance 
below  Oswegatchie.  Amherst  determined  to  take  the 
fortification,  for  he  wished  to  leave  no  post  of  the  enemy 
in  his  rear,  and  he  expected  to  find  among  the  garrison 
pilots  who  could  guide  his  boats  down  the  rapids.  The 
siege  was  accordingly  begun  within  a  few  hours  after 
the  naval  victory.  The  whole  army  moved  down  to 
Oswegatchie  and  encamped  there  in  the  afternoon  of 


*  Article  on  "  Israel  Putnam"  in  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of 
American  Biography, 


no  Israel  Putnam 


[1759- 


August  17th.  Both  shores  were  reconnoitred  during 
the  night,  and  the  next  day  some  of  the  troops,  includ- 
ing Connecticut  men  under  Putnam,  were  ordered  to 
take  possession  of  the  islands  just  below  Fort  Levis. 
They  proceeded  in  bateaux,  but  in  passing  the  fort 
were  fired  upon  and  suffered  some  loss.  Batteries  were 
begun  on  the  points  of  two  of  the  islands,  Isles  Galot 
and  Picquet.  The  next  morning  three  New  York 
regiments  with  all  their  artillery  passed  the  fort  under 
fire  from  the  enemy.  Other  islands  were  taken  and 
batteries  prepared.  Three  days  longer  the  work  of 
investing  Fort  Levis  continued  and  during  that  time 
the  French  garrison  under  Captain  Pouchot  kept  their 
cannon  more  or  less  active  in  attempting  to  repel  the 
besiegers.  As  soon  as  the  English  war-ships  under 
Captain  Eoring  arrived,  Amherst  ordered  them  to  move 
down  the  river  and  post  themselves  as  close  to  the  fort 
as  possible.  They  were  "  to  fire  upon  the  enemy," 
says  Mante,  "  and  prevent  their  making  use  of  their 
guns  whilst  the  grenadiers  rowed  in  with  their  broad- 
swords and  tomahawks,  fascines  and  scaling-ladders 
under  cover  of  three  hundred  of  the  light  infantry,  who 
were  to  fire  into  the  embrasures."  *  But  this  plan  of 
assault  had  to  be  postponed  on  August  23rd  on  account 
of  the  running  aground  of  the  Onondaga,  and  two  days 
later  its  execution  was  made  unnecessary  by  the  sur- 
render— "  a  fortunate  event,"  exclaims  Mante,  "  as  it 
saved  a  good  deal  of  blood."  When  Amherst  was 
planning  to  storm  the  enemy's  stronghold  on  the 
island,  one  of  the  problems  had  been  how  to  pass  over 
a  high  abattis  of  black-ash  which  surrounded  the 
fortress.     Everywhere   it   projected   over  the  water. 

*  History  of  the  late  War  in  North  America  ;  see  also  M.  Pou- 
chot, Memoir  upon  the  late  War  in  North  America,  1 755-1 760. 


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i76i]  Three  More  Campaigns  in 

The  fertile  mind  of  the  dauntless  Connecticut  officer, 
whose  originality  had  already  impressed  the  comman- 
der, conceived  a  solution. 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Putnam  proposed  a  mode  of  attack," 
Humphreys  narrates,  "and  offered  his  services  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  The  General  approved  the  proposal.  Our  partisan  ac- 
cordingly caused  a  sufficient  number  of  boats  to  be  fitted  for  the 
enterprise.  The  sides  of  each  boat  were  surrounded  with  fas- 
cines, musket-proof,  which  covered  the  men  completely.  A 
wide  plank,  twenty  feet  in  length,  was  then  fitted  to  every  boat 
in  such  manner,  by  having  an  angular  piece  sawed  from  one 
extremity,  that  when  fastened  by  ropes  on  both  sides  of  the 
bow  it  might  be  raised  or  lowered  at  pleasure.  The  design  was 
that  the  plank  should  be  held  erect  while  the  oarsmen  forced 
the  bow  with  the  utmost  exertion  against  the  abattis ;  and  that 
afterwards  being  dropped  on  the  pointed  brush  it  should  serve 
as  a  kind  of  bridge  to  assist  the  men  in  passing  over  them." 

Although  the  same  writer  states  that  "  Putnam  was 
particularly  honoured  by  Amherst  for  his  ingenuity  in 
this  invention,"  the  possibility  of  getting  over  the  abat- 
tis by  such  a  device  has  been  doubted.  ' '  From  per- 
sonal observation  of  the  ground,"  writes  Lossing,  "  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  a  plank  twenty  feet  long 
could  hardly  have  reached  the  abattis  from  the  water, 
even  in  a  perpendicular  position,  unless  the  altitude  of 
the  shores  was  less  then  than  now."  The  apparent 
impracticability  of  the  plan  has  led  some  writers  to  con- 
sider the  story  as  fabulous.  On  the  other  hand  is  the 
fact  that  Humphreys  claims  to  give  the  details  on  the 
authority  of  the  hero  himself  who  was  capable  of  pro- 
posing so  original  and  venturesome  an  expedient  and 
of  energetically  attempting  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

It  does  not  appear  in  the  next  paragraph  of  Hum- 
phreys's account  that  the  abattis  was  actually  passed  in 


ii2  Israel  Putnam 


[1759- 


the  way  Putnam  planned,  but  that  the  planks  and  fas- 
cines frightened  the  enemy  and  hastened  the  surrender: 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Putnam,  having  made  his  dispositions 
to  attempt  the  escalade  in  many  places  at  the  same  moment, 
advanced  with  his  boats  in  admirable  order.  The  garrison, 
perceiving  these  extraordinary  machines,  waited  not  the  assault 
but  capitulated." 

But  Humphreys  seriously  errs  in  his  description  of 
the  capture  of  Fort  L,evis  in  omitting  mention  of  the 
bombardment  and  in  giving  the  impression  that  Put- 
nam's mode  of  advancing  was  the  sole  cause  of  the 
surrender. 

After  Fort  L,£vis  was  captured,  the  English  army 
was  employed  five  days  in  making  the  necessary  pre- 
parations for  advancing,  and  then  on  the  morning  of 
August  31st  Amherst  embarked  with  some  of  the 
troops.  Putnam  was  in  this  first  division.  The  rest 
of  the  army  followed  the  next  day.  The  journey  from 
Fort  L,evis  to  Montreal  required  a  week.  This  was  a 
very  perilous  part  of  the  expedition,  for  the  river 
abounded  in  intricate  passages  formed  by  the  number- 
less small  islands,  and  in  cascades  and  whirlpools. 
These  presented  difficulties  which  the  skill  of  the  most 
experienced  and  stout-hearted  guides  could  not  wholly 
overcome.  There  was  no  serious  mishap,  however,  in 
passing  the  Galops,  the  Rapide  Plat,  the  LongSaut,  and 
the  C6teau  du  Lac,  in  succession,  but  when  the  army 
reached  the  Cedars,  the  Buisson,  and  the  Cascades, 
the  boats,  notwithstanding  the  precautions  which  had 
been  taken,  became  crowded  together,  and  some  of 
them  were  swept  helplessly  forward  by  the  swift, 
foaming  current.     Putnam  must  have  seen  boat  after 


i76i]  Three  More  Campaigns  113 

boat  dashed  madly  against  the  rocks,  for  the  forty-six 
which  were  totally  wrecked,  and  the  eighteen  damaged, 
belonged  to  the  first  division.  Eighty-four  men  were 
drowned.*  At  length  the  dangerous  rapids  were  passed 
and  the  flotilla  glided  out  upon  the  still  surface  of  Lake 
St.  Louis.  The  army  encamped,  September  5th,  on 
Isle  Perrot.  Here  two  messages  arrived  for  General 
Amherst  which  must  have  gladdened  his  own  heart  and 
that  of  every  soldier  with  him  :  one  was  from  General 
Murray,  saying  that  he  was  on  Isle  St.  Therese, 
just  below  Montreal;  the  other  was  from  Brigadier- 
General  Haviland,  announcing  that  he  himself  was 
already  near  the  southern  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
opposite  the  city,  having  captured  Isle-aux-Noix  on 
the  way.  Israel  Putnam  and  his  comrades  now  knew 
that  the  grand  scheme  of  the  Commander-in-chief  was 
about  to  be  accomplished,  for  in  a  few  hours  Montreal 
would  be  invested  by  three  English  armies. 

On  September  6th,  Amherst's  troops  re-embarked 
and,  having  passed  along  the  shore,  landed  at  La 
Chine  on  the  south-west  end  of  the  island  of  Montreal. 
After  some  of  the  artillery  had  been  brought  ashore,  a 
few  battalions  of  provincials  were  left  to  guard  the 
boats,  while  the  main  body  of  troops  marched  to  Mon- 
treal and  encamped  before  its  walls.  Although  Putnam 
was  in  the  detachment  which  remained  at  La  Chine, 
he  must  soon  have  been  informed  of  what  occurred 
during  the  next  two  days  at  the  city  nine  miles  distant. 

Finding    that    the    English,    whose    three    armies 

*  There  is  an  interesting  contemporary  portrait  of  Amherst 
after  a  painting  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  which  represents  the 
commander  solicitously  watching  his  men  as  they  are  descend- 
ing the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  rapids.  It  is  reproduced  in 
G.  B.  Hart's  Fall  of  New  France. 


ii4  Israel  Putnam  [1759- 

numbered  seventeen  thousand  men,  were  rapidly  plant- 
ing their  cannon  to  bombard  the  city,  the  French  au- 
thorities began  negotiations  without  delay,  looking  to 
the  surrender  of  their  chief  remaining  stronghold  in 
Canada.  The  correspondence  between  the  Marquis  de 
Vaudreuil  and  General  Amherst  lasted  until  September 
8th.  Then  the  French  governor,  yielding  to  the  de- 
mand that  the  whole  garrison  of  Montreal  and  all  other 
French  troops  in  Canada  lay  down  their  arms,  signed 
the  capitulation.  Thus  "  half  the  continent  changed 
hands  at  the  scratch  of  a  pen,"  and  without  bloodshed 
the  great  object  of  this  campaign  had  been  accom- 
plished. Now  at  last  over  the  gate  of  Montreal  was 
hoisted  the  flag  of  St.  George. 

Great  clemency  was  shown  the  vanquished  in  com- 
pliance with  the  wish  Amherst  expressed  when  thank- 
ing his  soldiers  for  their  services.  Some  of  the  Indians, 
who  had  recently  been  allies  of  the  French,  quickly 
transferred  their  allegiance  to  the  English.  Near 
Montreal  was  Caughnawaga  or  Saut  St.  Louis,  the  seat 
of  an  Indian  mission,  with  chapel,  fortifications,  and 
storehouses.  There  Putnam  found  the  chief,  his  captor 
of  two  years  before,  who  had  conceived  a  special 
liking  for  the  heroic  prisoner  and  had  remembered  him 
with  interest. 

"That  Indian,"  Humphreys  relates,  "was  highly  delighted 
to  see  his  old  acquaintance,  whom  he  entertained  in  his  own 
well-built  stone  house  with  great  friendship  and  hospitality ; 
while  his  guest  did  not  discover  less  satisfaction  in  an  oppor- 
tunity of  shaking  the  brave  savage  by  the  hand  and  proffering 
him  protection  in  this  reverse  of  his  military  fortunes." 

Putnam  had  certainly  cherished  no  ill-will  or  re- 
vengeful spirit  towards  the  tribe  of  savages  into  whose 


i76i]  Three  More  Campaigns  115 

power  he  had  once  fallen.  In  the  days  of  the  American 
Revolution,  when  urging  that  the  help  of  the  Caugbna- 
wagas  be  retained  in  the  fight  for  freedom,  he  declared 
his  high  opinion  of  them  :  "  I  know  them  to  be  a  very 
brave  nation  and  think  it  of  importance  they  should  be 
secured  to  our  interest." 

Within  a  week  after  the  fall  of  Canada,  Putnam  was 
travelling  back  to  Fort  William  Augustus,  for  the 
Connecticut  regiments  were  ordered  to  set  out  in  that 
direction  on  September  u,  1760.  On  account  of  the 
rapids  and  other  obstacles  in  the  route,  two  weeks 
passed  away  before  the  soldiers  reached  the  fort.  Then 
they  were  put  to  work  upon  it  and  continued  at  this 
task  until  the  last  of  October,  when  the  blustering 
weather  prevented  further  labour.  The  provincials  were 
permitted  to  go  home.  It  is  doubtful  if  Putnam  could 
have  reached  Pomfret  before  November  21st.  This 
was  the  date  of  another  sad  event  in  his  home, — the 
death  of  little  David,  who  was  born  in  his  absence  and 
lived  only  one  month  and  seven  days. 

Although  the  fate  of  Canada  had  been  decided,  and 
the  New  England  people,  like  many  other  British  sub- 
jects, had  celebrated  the  event  with  much  thanks- 
giving, the  campaign  of  1761  needed  to  be  planned,  in 
order  ' '  to  /reduce  the  enemy  to  the  necessity  of  accept- 
ing a  peace,  on  terms  of  Glory  and  advantage  to  His 
Majesty's  Crown,  and  beneficial,  in  particular,  to  his 
subjects  in  America."  Amherst  was  again  made  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  regular  and  provincial  troops. 
At  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in  March, 
1 76 1,  Connecticut  promptly  resolved  to  furnish  two 
thousand  three  hundred  men,  and  to  form  them  into 
two  regiments  of  twelve  companies  each.     As  in  every 


n6  Israel  Putnam  [1759-61] 

campaign  of  this  war,  Phineas  layman  was  made  Major- 
General  of  the  colony's  force.  Israel  Putnam  was 
nominated  by  the  lower  House  as  L,ieutenant-Colonel 
of  the  Second  Regiment,  of  which  Nathan  Whiting 
was  Colonel.  In  April,  however,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Nathan  Payson  of  the  First  Regiment  died,  and  Putnam 
was  transferred  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

The  campaign  of  176 1  was  uneventful,  compared  with 
the  previous  years.  Now  that  fighting  was  ended  in 
Canada,  the  provincials  were  employed  in  repairing  and 
strengthening  the  newly  acquired  forts  and  military 
posts  as  well  as  those  fortifications  which  the  English 
themselves  had  built.  The  Connecticut  soldiers  were 
assigned  to  work  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
Although  we  have  no  detailed  account  of  Putnam's  per- 
sonal history  during  this  year,  we  know  that  in  these 
military  operations  which  he  shared  he  must  have 
shown  the  energy  and  endurance  for  which  he  was  dis- 
tinguished in  former  and  more  exciting  campaigns. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  HAVANA 
I 762-I 763 

I/THOUGH  Canada  had  been  conquered, 
more  military  service  was  demanded  of 
the  English  colonists  in  1762.  Some 
of  them  were  now  to  be  employed  in 
the  West  Indies  ;  and  Putnam  was 
destined  to  share  in  the  tragic  experi- 
ences through  which  the  regular  and  provincial  soldiers 
passed  in  capturing  the  "  Pearl  of  the  Antilles." 
'  George  III.  had  become  involved  in  a  war  with 
Spain,  for  Charles  III.  of  that  kingdom  had  entered, 
with  Louis  XV.  of  France,  into  the  arrangement 
known  as  the  Family  Compact,  by  which  the  sovereign 
princes  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  agreed  to  support 
each  other  against  the  growing  power  of  the  King  of 
England.  After  the  English  had  captured,  in  the  early 
part  of  1762,  Martinique  and  other  West  Indian  islands 
which  belonged  to  France,  their  next  object  of  attack 
in  the  New  World  was  the  Spanish  possession  of 
Havana.  For  this  purpose  an  expedition  sailed  from 
England  in  March,  1762,  and  appeared  off  the  coast  of 
Cuba  early  in  June.  It  had  been  joined  by  other  forces, 
and  now  consisted  of  nearly  two  hundred  vessels,  about 

117 


n8  Israel  Putnam  [1762- 

a  fifth  of  which  were  ships  of  war.  Admiral  Sir  George 
Pocock  commanded  the  fleet,  and  General  the  Earl  of 
Albemarle  the  army,  which  numbered  eleven  thousand 
men.  The  reinforcement  which  was  expected  from  the 
English  colonies  in  America  had  not  yet  arrived. 

Connecticut  had  been  called  upon  by  the  British 
government,  "  to  raise  the  same  number  of  men  they 
raised  for  the  last  year's  campaign."  The  Assembly 
had  accordingly  voted  to  furnish  "  twenty-three  hun- 
dred able-bodied  and  effective  men,  officers  included, 
.  .  .  to  be  formed  into  two  regiments,  each  regiment 
to  consist  of  twelve  companies."  For  the  eighth  con- 
secutive year,  we  find  Phineas  Lyman  appointed  by 
the  Assembly  as  "  Major-General  of  the  forces  ordered 
to  be  raised  in  this  Colony."  This  time  the  name 
next  to  Lyman's  in  the  list  of  officers  is  that  of  "  Israel 
Putnam,  Esqr.,"  who  was  made  Lieutenant-Colonel  of 
the  First  Regiment. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Tenth  Company,  which 
served  with  the  Second  Regiment  at  Crown  Point  dur- 
ing this  campaign,  the  soldiers  of  the  First  Regiment 
assembled  at  New  York  City.  There  these  thousand 
men,  together  with  eight  hundred  volunteers  from  New 
York  and  five  hundred  from  New  Jersey,  embarked,  in 
the  month  of  June,  for  the  expedition  against  Havana. 
General  Lyman  had  been  put  in  command  of  the  bri- 
gade and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Putnam  was  now  acting 
colonel  of  the  Connecticut  regiment. 

The  greater  part  of  the  voyage  was  uneventful,  but 
when  at  last  the  provincials  approached  the  coast  of 
Cuba  a  terrific  hurricane  arose,  and  the  transport  which 
carried  Putnam  and  five  hundred  of  his  men  was 
driven  upon  a  rift  of  craggy  rocks  and  wrecked.  In 
this  imminent  danger  Putnam  was  as  calm  and  resource- 


i763]         The  Capture  of  Havana  119 

ful  a  hero  as  he  had  been  at  other  perilous  periods  of 
his  life.  Above  the  roar  of  the  angry  billows  he  con- 
trolled his  men  to  such  a  degree  that  a  panic  was  pre- 
vented. For  the  original  account  of  the  shipwreck  we 
are  indebted  to  Humphreys,  who  has  handed  down  to 
us  in  the  following  form  the  facts  which  he  obtained 
from  Putnam  : 

"The  weather  was  so  tempestuous  and  the  surf,  which  ran 
mountain-high,  dashed  with  such  violence  against  the  ship  that 
the  most  experienced  seaman  expected  it  would  soon  part 
asunder.  The  rest  of  the  fleet,  so  far  from  being  able  to  afford 
assistance,  with  difficulty  rode  out  the  gale.  In  this  deplorable 
situation,  as  the  only  expedient  by  which  they  could  be  saved, 
strict  order  was  maintained,  and  all  those  people  who  best 
understood  the  use  of  tools  instantly  employed  in  constructing 
rafts  from  spars,  plank,  and  whatever  other  materials  could  be 
procured.  There  happened  to  be  on  board  a  large  quantity  of 
strong  coids  (the  same  that  are  used  in  the  whale  fishery)  which, 
being  fastened  to  the  rafts,  after  the  first  had  with  inconceiv- 
able hazard  reached  the  shore,  were  of  infinite  service  in  pre- 
venting the  others  from  drifting  out  to  sea,  as  also  in  dragging 
them  athwart  the  billows  to  the  beach,  by  which  means  every 
man  was  finally  saved." 

The  same  chronicler  now  mentions  the  precautionary 
measures  of  the  efficient  commander  for  the  protection 
of  the  castaways  until  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  sent  to 
their  relief : 

"As  soon  as  all  were  landed,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Putnam 
fortified  his  camp,  that  he  might  not  be  exposed  to  insult  from 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  districts  or  from  those  of  Car- 
thagena,  who  were  but  twenty-four  miles  distant.  Here  the 
party  remained  unmolested  several  days,  until  the  storm  had 
so  much  abated  as  to  permit  the  convoy  to  take  them  off." 

Coasting  westward  along  the  Cuban  shore,  the  New 


i20  Israel  Putnam 


[1762- 


England  soldiers  must  have  gazed  with  great  interest 
on  the  tropical  scenery  so  strange  to  most  of  them. 
Fertile,  undulating  land,  instead  of  wastes  of  sand  or 
low  flats,  receded  from  the  sea  and  rose  in  high  hills 
which  were  covered  with  luxuriant  verdure.  At  last, 
in  the  distance,  the  grey  outlines  of  Morro  Castle,  con- 
trasting strongly  with  the  richness  and  peaceful  beauty 
of  nature,  came  in  sight.  Soon  Putnam  and  all  on 
board  the  vessel  gained  a  nearer  view  of  this  grim, 
beetling  fortress,  between  which  and  the  frowning 
battlements  of  Punta  was  the  deep,  narrow  entrance 
to  Havana  harbour.  At  a  sale  distance  west  of  Morro 
Castle,  Putnam  and  his  men  landed.  They  soon  joined 
their  comrades,  who,  having  escaped  being  cast  away 
in  the  storm,  had  arrived  before  them  in  this  vicinity. 
It  was  now  the  last  week  in  July.  The  siege  of  Havana 
had  already  been  in  progress  nearly  two  months.  The 
provincials — even  those  of  them  who  had  been  ship- 
wrecked— were  in  high  spirits  and  were  eager  to  share 
in  the  military  operations  against  the  Spaniards.  In- 
deed, the  reinforcement  was  heartily  welcomed,  for  the 
besiegers  were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Since  the  7th 
of  June,  the  date  of  their  landing,  the  English  troops 
under  L,ord  Albemarle  had  suffered  more  from  the 
climate  than  from  the  assaults  of  the  defenders  of 
Morro  Castle.  Under  the  fiery  sun  they  had  toiled  at 
the  breastworks  on  the  surrounding  heights.  Hardly 
enough  earth  could  be  gathered  from  crevices  in  the 
parched  rocks  to  hold  the  fascines  firm.  When  at  last 
the  cannon  had  opened  on  the  Spanish  stronghold,  the 
grand  battery,  which  was  little  else  than  a  heap  of 
dry  sticks,  took  fire  and  was  consumed.  The  exhaust- 
ing labour  of  rebuilding  the  defences  in  the  tropic  mid- 
summer and  the  lack  of  proper  food  and  drink  wrought 


1763]         The  Capture  of  Havana  121 

fearful  havoc  among  the  English.  Half  the  army  lay 
ill  of  fever  and  many  of  the  soldiers  had  died.  It  was 
at  this  critical  time  that,  in  the  words  of  the  early 
historian,  Benjamin  Trumbull,  "  the  arrival  of  troops 
from  North  America  [Putnam  and  the  provincials]  re- 
vived the  drooping  spirits  of  the  English  regulars,  gave 
fresh  vigour  to  their  operations,  and  was  of  the  most 
signal  service."  * 

With  the  aid  of  the  Colonial  reinforcement,  Lord 
Albemarle  determined  to  attempt  at  once  to  carry 
Morro  Castle  by  storm.  Ten  days  previous  he  had 
repulsed  a  formidable  sally,  and  now,  at  last,  his  work 
of  sapping  had  resulted  in  a  practicable  breach  near 
the  right  bastion.  On  the  afternoon  of  July  30th  the 
assailants,  led  by  Lieutenant  Forbes  of  the  Royals, 
advanced  with  great  intrepidity.  Having  mounted 
the  breach,  they  surprised  and  dispersed  the  garrison. 
The  reduction  of  the  fortress  was  complete.  Five 
hundred  of  the  enemy  fell,  including  Don  Luis  de 
Velasco,  the  commander  of  the  Morro  ;  the  English 
lost  only  two  officers  and  thirty  men.  Many  Spaniards 
were  drowned  in  trying  to  reach  the  city.  There  is  no 
detailed  record  of  Putnam's  part  in  the  victorious 
action,  but  he  was  a  sharer  in  the  honours  bestowed 
upon  the  members  of  the  storming  party  for  their 
gallant  service. 

After  the  fall  of  Morro  Castle,  the  next  object  of  Lord 
Albemarle  was  Havana  itself.  Works  were  begun  on 
both  sides  of  the  city  and  were  carried  on  for  ten  days. 
On  the  morning  of  August  nth,  the  English  batteries, 
consisting  of  forty-five  cannon,  opened  a  heavy  fire 
on  the  city.  The  bombardment  continued  until  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     Then  the  Spaniards,  seeing 

*  History  of  Connecticut \  1630  to  1764. 


122  Israel  Putnam  [1762- 

the  uselessness  of  further  resistance,  offered  to  surren- 
der. Two  days  later  the  negotiations  were  ended  and 
Havana  and  its  immediate  territory  passed  into  posses- 
sion of  the  English.*  Nearly  a  thousand  regular 
troops  of  the  enemy  became  prisoners  and  were  sent 
on  board  the  English  vessels.  Putnam  must  have 
been  one  of  the  witnesses  of  the  honourable  terms 
granted  the  Spaniards  ;  for,  in  sight  of  their  captors, 
the  soldiers  marched  out  of  the  city  with  all  the  honours 
of  war.  Besides  the  success  of  the  English  on  land, 
nine  ships-of-the-line  and  four  frigates  surrendered  to 
them  in  the  harbour. 

Unfortunately,  the  distribution  of  the  prize  money 
was  accompanied  by  much  injustice,  for  the  "  poor 
men  got  a  lean  share  and  the  great  chiefs  were  en- 
riched." There  is  no  record  of  the  amount  which 
Putnam  received,  but,  like  that  of  all  the  provincials, 
it  was  much  less  than  it  should  have  been.  It  was, 
however,  large  enough  to  be  of  considerable  financial 
help  to  him  after  his  return  to  his  home  in  Connecti- 
cut, and  it  gave  him  added  reputation  there,  among 
his  neighbours,  of  being  "  very  well-to-do." 


*  The  details  of  the  capture  of  Havana  are  given  not  only  by 
Mante  in  his  History  of  the  late  War  in  North  America,  pp. 
398-465,  but  also  by  another  contemporary  English  historian, 
Entick,  in  his  General  History  of  the  late  War,  vol.  v.,  pp. 
363-383.  The  Journal  of  the  Siege  by  the  Chief  Engineer  is  in 
Beatson's  Naval  and  Military  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  544.  In  the  Library  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
is  a  Letter  of  Lieut.  Col.  A.  Moneypenny,  dated  "Havana, 
15th  August,  1762,"  describing  the  siege.  There  is  a  plan  of 
the  siege,  "drawn  by  an  officer  on  the  spot,  1762."  It  is  re- 
produced in  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  Amer- 
ica, vol.  viii.,  p.  274,  from  the  Authentic  Journal  of  the  Siege 
(London,  1763). 


i763]  The  Capture  of  Havana  123 

It  is  of  great  interest  to  us  that  there  is  still  in  exist- 
ence an  Orderly  Book  which  was  brought  by  Putnam 
himself  from  Havana.*  In  this  original  and  valuable 
source  of  information  we  have  a  dail\r  record,  from 
August  25  to  October  16,  1762,  of  what  was  required 
of  the  Colonial  troops  soon  after  the  surrender  of 
Havana.  Among  the  entries  is  one  commanding  the 
provincials  to  show  respect  for  the  religion  of  the  con- 
quered inhabitants.  Doubtless  this  order  was  especially 
necessary  because  of  the  prejudice  of  the  Puritan 
soldiers  of  New  England  against  the  Roman  Catholics, 
whom  they  now  saw  in  large  numbers  in  priestly  and 
religious  garb.  We  learn  from  the  same  Orderly  Book 
that  Lord  Albemarle  adopted  a  liberal  policy  in  allow- 
ing the  Spanish  citizens  of  Havana  the  privilege  during 
the  daytime  of  going  out  or  coming  into  the  town. 
They  were  "  not  to  be  Stopt  by  any  Guard  or  Sentry." 
It  was  necessary  to  make  repairs  on  the  captured  city 
and  its  fortifications,  and  special  orders  were  accordingly 
issued  in  August  for  the  provincials  to  set  to  work. 
Many  details  for  provisioning  the  army  are  found  in 
the  Orderly  Book.  There  are  also  allusions  to  the 
fevers  which  soon  laid  low  many  of  the  New  England 
men.  The  entries  relating  to  the  care  of  the  sick  give 
an  added  interest  to  another  contemporaneous  docu- 
ment. This  is  none  other  than  the  Journal  of  the  Rev. 
John  Graham, f  who  had  been  with  Putnam  and  the 
provincials  at  Fort  Edward  in  1756,  and  who  was  now 
again   chaplain   of  the    Connecticut   troops.     In   the 


*  This  Orderly  Book  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Charles  Otis 
Thompson,  of  Pom  fret,  Conn.,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Putnam. 

t  Graham's  Journal  was  printed  in  the  Year  Book  for  i8g5 
of  the  New  York  Society  of  Colonial  Wars  ;  also  in  Halstead's 
The  Story  of  Cuba. 


124  Israel  Putnam  [1762- 

quaint  and  pathetic  language  of  this  old-time  minister, 
we  have  ajdescription  of  the  terrible  scenes  of  suffering 
which  Putnam  must  have  witnessed.  The  minister's 
depression  of  spirit,  caused  by  the  "  groans  and  out- 
crys  of  the  Sick  and  distressed,"  as  well  as  by  his  own 
bodily  ailments,  was  increased  by  his  morbid  religious- 
ness and  the  apparent  indifference  of  the  soldiers  to  his 
Sunday  ministrations.  He  tells  of  his  interview  with 
Putnam  : 

"Sabbath  Day,  Oct.  3,  1762. — Tho  this  day  is  by  divine 
appointment  Set  apart  as  holy,  and  consecrated  to  holy  uses 
yet  in  Camp,  among  the  Troops,  is  set  aside  as  common,  and 
not  so  much  as  the  least  visible  Shew  or  appearance  of  any- 
thing that  is  religious  carried  on  ;  but  God  and  religion,  Christ 
and  Salvation  are  disregarded,  condemn'd  and  dispised,  and  we 
live  as  tho'  there  was  no  God,  no  future  Judgment,  but  as  if  we 
had  given  and  preserved  life  to  ourselves,  and  consequently 
were  never  to  be  accountable  to  any  others  how  we  lived  or 
Spent  our  days. 

"I  asked  Col.  Putnam  in  ye  Morning  what  there  was  to 
hinder  publick  Service — he  answered,  he  knew  nothing  in  the 
world  to  hinder  it — I  askt  him  if  it  was  not  duty  if  there  was 
nothing  to  hinder — yes,  answered  he,  by  all  means,  and  I  won- 
der in  my  Soul  why  we  don't  have  Service  ;  and  add'd  we  could 
have  prayers  night  and  morning  Just  as  well  as  not — but  then 
says  he,  ther  '1  be  but  few  to  attend,  there  's  so  many  Sick,  and 
so  many  to  attend  the  sick  that  there  cou'd  not  be  a  Great 
many  present  at  the  services  ;  I  replied — we  had  this  to  encour- 
age us,  where  two  or  three  are  met  together  in  my  Name,  Says 
God,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them  to  bless  them,  so  that  it 
was  not  numbers  that  entitled  to  the  blessing — that 's  true,  Says 
he,  I  will  go  down  to  the  General  [Lyman]  and  Speak  to  him 
about  it,  bides  good  by — have  heard  no  more  of  it  Since." 

The  reason  why  the  chaplain  heard  no  more  of  the 
matter  was  either  because  public  services  were  found 
to  be  impracticable  after  all,  with  so  much  illness  in 


i763]         The  Capture  of  Havana  125 

camp,  or  because  General  Lyman  thought  them  of 
little  importance  and  so  took  no  action  about  having 
them  held. 

On  Thursday  morning,  October  7th,  according  to 
Graham's  Journal,  "  Col.  Putnam  and  Lt.  Parks  went 
off  into  ye  country  to  buy  fresh  provisions,  Such  as 
poultry,  etc."  When  they  returned  on  the  following 
Monday,  Parks  had  been  taken  ill,  and  it  would  ap- 
pear from  an  entry  two  days  later  in  the  journal  that 
before  the  week  was  ended  this  officer,  like  many 
another  provincial,  had  died. 

Graham  gives  melancholy  figures  in  stating  the 
number  of  Connecticut  men  who  fell  victims  to  the 
fatal  fevers.  By  October  2nd,  184  were  dead.  During 
the  week  which  followed  that  date,  the  list  was  in- 
creased to  207,  and  on  October  16th  it  amounted  to 
226. 

The  old  records  of  Connecticut  show  that  many 
names  were  destined  to  be  added  to  this  sad  list, 
making  nearly  400  deaths  in  all  in  the  regiment  which 
Putnam  commanded  as  acting  colonel.  The  loss  among 
the  other  provincial  troops  was  in  about  the  same  pro- 
portion,— more  than  one- third  of  the  force  from  each 
colony. 

Putnam's  capacity  for  remarkable  physical  endurance 
stood  him  in  good  stead  during  the  dreadful  days  at 
Havana,  but  the  added  responsibilities  arising  from  the 
condition  of  his  men  made  heavy  draughts  upon  his 
strength  and,  like  Chaplain  Graham,  he  must  have 
"  Long  looked  for,  long  expected,  much  desired  to 
know  the  fixed  time ' '  when  orders  would  be  issued 
by  Lord  Albemarle  for  the  provincial  troops  to  embark 
for  home.  The  eagerness  of  the  Connecticut  soldiers 
to  "  reach  their  native  Shores  and  with  wraptured 


126  Israel  Putnam  [1762- 

hearts  o'er  come  with  Joy,  to  Salute,  embrace,  and  fall 
into  the  Arms,  of  their  long  wished  for,  wishing, 
lovely,  loving  friends,"  could  not  but  have  been  in- 
creased by  an  event  which  brought  distant  scenes  very 
vividly  to  their  minds.  This  was  the  arrival,  in 
Havana  harbour,  in  early  October,  of  a  vessel  from 
New  London,  with  "  the  Joyful  news  of  the  prosperous 
Season  in  New  England  and  the  Smiles  of  divine  pro- 
vidence upon  the  labours  of  the  field." 

At  last,  from  headquarters  the  announcement  was 
made  of  "  six  Transports  appointed  for  the  Connecticut 
Troops  to  Carry  them  to  N.  York."  And  now  the 
provincials  were  happy,  indeed.  They  were  not  long 
in  embarking. 

The  Royal  Duke,  on  which  Putnam  was  aboard,  came 
very  near  having  a  serious  accident.  Graham,  his 
fellow-passenger,  records  : 

"Thursday,  Oct.  2T. — Just  at  night  going  out  of  the  harbour 
narrowly  escaped  running  on  the  Rocks — the  Ship  struck  once, 
but  a  wind  Sprung  up  and  carried  us  Clear — stood  off  to  sea  all 
night. 

*  'Friday,  Oct.  22.  Return'd  Back  to  find  the  fleet.  Join'd 
the  fleet  toward  night." 

The  vessels  were  soon  well  on  the  way  towards  their 
destination.  Most  of  the  soldiers  were  seasick.  The 
sufferings  of  those  who  had  not  recovered  from  Cuban 
fever  were  greatly  increased  in  the  rough  passage. 
Not  a  few  died  before  New  York  was  reached. 

With  Putnam  on  the  homeward  voyage  was  a  negro 
servant  whom  he  had  rescued  from  cruel  hands.  The 
story  is,  that  shortly  before  leaving  Havana  Putnam 
came  across,  in  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city,  an  angry 
Spaniard  severely  beating  a  slave  with  a  bamboo  cane. 


i763j  The  Capture  of  Havana  127 

So  indignant  was  the  Colonel  at  the  sight  that,  although 
he  was  unattended  and  defenceless,  he  rushed  up  to  the 
master  and  wrested  the  cane  from  him,  thus  putting  an 
end  to  the  brutal  scene.  Instantly  there  gathered 
about  Putnam  a  mob  of  Cubans,  infuriated  at  what 
they  considered  an  unwarranted  interference  by  a 
foreigner.  They  would  have  attacked  him  had  he 
not  defeated  their  purpose  by  escaping  to  one  of  the 
ships  at  the  wharf.  The  poor  slave  followed  his  rescuer 
and  begged  so  earnestly  to  be  taken  on  board  that  his 
request  was  granted.  He  insisted  on  remaining  with 
Putnam,  and  gladly  accompanied  him  to  Connecticut, 
and  became  his  faithful  servant  "  Dick."  The  bamboo 
stick  Putnam  kept  through  life.  He  referred  to  it  thus 
in  dictating  a  memorandum  on  October  3,  1789, — a 
few  months  before  his  death  : 

"  Walked  out  to-day  supported  by  my  Havana  cane,  which  is 
a  necessity  in  my  present  infirmity,  and  which  I  never  carry 
without  a  remembrance  of  that  day  when  I  seized  it." 

He  bequeathed  the  cane  to  the  devoted  coloured  man, 
and  it  is  said  that  a  familiar  sight  at  Brooklyn,  Con- 
necticut, used  to  be  Dick  in  his  old  age  hobbling  about 
with  it  and  proudly  calling  attention  to  "  Massa  Put- 
nam's cane." 

By  the  time  that  Putnam  reached  Pomfret  the 
autumn  of  1762  was  ended.  The  next  year  and  a  half 
were  spent  by  him  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  farm  life. 
No  details  of  his  personal  history,  during  this  period, 
have  come  down  to  us.  Like  all  his  fellow-colonists 
he  must  have  welcomed  the  cessation  of  hostilities  be- 
tween the  mother  country  and  her  enemies.  It  was, 
doubtless,  with  chagrin  that  he  heard  that  Havana, 
which   had  been  wrested  at  fearful  cost  from  Spain, 


128  Israel  Putnam  [1762-63] 

was  restored  to  her.  He  afterwards  learned,  however, 
that  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1763,  Great  Britain  received  Florida  and  all 
other  Spanish  possessions  east  of  the  Mississippi  River 
in  exchange  for  the  portion  of  Cuba  which  had  been 
given  back.  France,  after  her  hard-fought  but  fruit- 
less struggle  for  supremacy  in  North  America,  sur- 
rendered to  the  English,  by  the  Paris  treaty,  Canada, 
Acadia,  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  with  other  islands 
in  the  Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  also 
the  territory  between  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the 
Mississippi;  and,  in  order  to  indemnify  Spain  for  the 
loss  of  Florida,  she  ceded  to  that  country  the  city  of 
New  Orleans  and  the  vast  region  called  Louisiana, 
which  lay  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

Thus  ended,  in  the  New  World,  the  long  war  in 
which  Putnam  had  borne  an  important  part.  Al- 
though peace  with  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards  was  as- 
sured to  the  English  colonists,  new  difficulties  arose, 
and  again  the  energetic  and  brave  officer  was  called 
into  military  service. 


CHAPTER    XI 

IN   BRADSTREET'S   EXPEDITION 

1764 

"This  Assembly  doth  appoint  Israel  Putnam,  Esqr,  to  be 
Major  of  the  forces  now  ordered  to  be  raised  in  this  Colony  for 
his  Majesty's  service  against  the  Indian  nations  who  have  been 
guilty  of  perfidious  and  cruel  massacres  of  the  English." 


O  reads  an  interesting  entry  in  the  colo- 
nial records  of  Connecticut  for  March, 
1764.  This  legislative  act  was  occa- 
sioned by  an  uprising  of  the  savages 
under  the  crafty,  ambitious,  and  pow- 
erful Pontiac,  chief  of  the  Ottawas. 
After  the  fall  of  Canada,  it  seemed  impossible  that 
the  loosely  organised  Indian  tribes,  deprived  of  French 
leadership,  could  co-operate  for  any  general  hostile 
movement.  Therefore  the  English  as  a  whole  felt 
no  apprehension  in  pursuing  an  intolerant  course, 
and  their  garrisons  frequently  insulted  and  drove  away 
the  Indian  visitors.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  Pontiac 
took  advantage  of  the  prejudice  of  the  savages  against 
the  English,  for  his  own  dark  purpose.  Pie  sent  mes- 
sengers with  red-stained  tomahawks  and  wampum  war- 
belts  in  the  autumn  of  1762  to  the  Indians  far  and  near, 
and  succeeded  in  securing  as  allies  most  of  the  tribes 


130  Israel  Putnam  [1764 

between  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi 
River  and  also  the  Senecas,  one  of  the  Six  Nations.  His 
plot  was  for  a  grand  simultaneous  attack  in  the  month 
of  May,  1763,  on  all  the  Western  posts,  each  of  which 
was,  for  this  purpose,  assigned  to  the  tribe  nearest  to 
it.  He  planned  in  general  that  a  few  Indians  with 
weapons  concealed  under  their  blankets  should  ap- 
proach a  fort  and  obtain  admission  on  a  pretext  of 
friendship.  Others,  similarly  armed,  were  to  join 
their  fellows  until  the  number  was  large  enough  to  at- 
tack the  garrison ;  then  on  a  signal  they  were  to  spring 
forward  upon  the  English  and  either  take  them  prison- 
ers or  massacre  them.  Many  were  the  forts  captured 
by  the  scheme  of  treachery,  Pennsylvania  especially 
becoming  the  scene  of  diabolical  atrocities.  The  gar- 
rison at  Detroit  was  to  be  attacked,  May  7th,  by  the 
force  which  Pontiac  was  to  lead  in  person,  but,  on 
the  day  before,  an  Indian  girl  disclosed  the  plot  to 
Major  Gladwyn,  the  commander  there.  The  discom- 
fited conspirators  then  assailed  the  fort  and  for  weeks  the 
sleepless  English  gallantly  defended  themselves.  In 
November,  1763,  Pontiac  retired  with  his  followers  from 
Detroit,  but  it  was  soon  evident  that  hostilities  in  general 
had  only  been  suspended  and  the  war  would  be  renewed 
in  the  spring.  The  savage  butcheries  already  committed 
made  early  action  necessary  in  1764,  and  General  Thomas 
Gage,  who  had  succeeded  Amherst  as  Commander-in- 
chief,  wrote  to  the  colonies,  earnestly  calling  for  troops 
to  suppress  the  "  insurrections  of  the  Indian  nations." 
Israel  Putnam  was  especially  alive  to  the  duties  of 
the  coming  campaign.  The  battalion  which  he  was 
appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  to 
command  as  Major  consisted  of  five  companies.  At 
the  May  session  the  Assembly,  in  view  of  furnishing 


1764]       In  Bradstreet's  Expedition       -131 

more  troops,  made  Putnam  the  "  lieutenant-Colonel 
of  the  forces  raised  in  this  Colony  for  the  service  of  the 
present  year." 

The  general  plan  of  General  Gage  for  1764  was  for 
two  expeditions  from  different  points  into  the  heart  of 
the  Indian  country.  One  was  to  be  led  by  Colonel 
Henry  Bouquet,  who  was  to  advance  from  Fort  Pitt — 
which,  like  Fort  Detroit,  had  been  saved  the  previous 
year  by  being  warned  in  season — into  the  Delaware 
and  Shawanese  settlements  of  the  Ohio  Valley;  the 
other,  under  Colonel  John  Bradstreet,  was  to  have  for  its 
object  the  relief  of  Major  Gladwyn  at  Detroit  and  the 
subjection  of  the  neighbouring  tribes.  It  was  in  this 
latter  expedition,  the  route  of  which  was  from  Albany 
across  the  colony  of  New  York  and  up  L,akes  Ontario 
and  Krie,  that  Putnam  and  his  Connecticut  men  served. 

Bradstreet  expected  to  start  with  his  army  in  April, 
but  he  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the  tardiness  of 
the  different  colonies  in  furnishing  troops.  When  at 
last  he  set  out  from  Albany  about  the  end  of  June  his 
force,  which  did  not  number  more  than  twelve  hundred 
men,  was  much  smaller  than  had  been  planned.  Put- 
nam had  already  been  associated  with  this  officer  on 
various  occasions,  notably  at  the  unsuccessful  attack 
on  Ticonderoga  in  1758,  and  at  the  downfall  of  that 
stronghold  the  next  j^ear.  It  was  Bradstreet' s  fortunate 
capture  of  Fort  Frontenac  in  the  autumn  of  1758  that 
had  brought  about  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  among 
whom  was  Putnam  himself. 

Among  the  original  sources  of  information  relating  to 
Bradstreet' s  expedition  is  the  Journal  of  Lieutenant 
John  Montresor,*  who  in  the  preceding  year  assisted  in 
relieving  the  garrison  at  Fort  Detroit  with  provisions 

*  Collections  of  New  York  Historical  Society,  1881. 


i32*  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

when  they  were  closely  besieged  by  the  Indians.  This 
young  Englishman,  with  whom  as  well  as  his  father, 
Colonel  James  Montresor,  Putnam  had  become  well  ac- 
quainted at  Fort  Edward  in  1757,  was  now  Bradstreet's 
engineer.  The  document  which  he  has  left  contains 
direct  references  to  Putnam. 

When  Bradstreet  reached  Fort  Ontario  with  his  men 
his  force  was  increased  by  nearly  six  hundred  Indians 
under  Sir  William  Johnson.  Among  these  savage 
allies  was  the  chief  who  had  once  been  Putnam's  captor 
and  since  that  time  his  friend.  This  Indian  was  now 
at  the  head  of  a  hundred  warriors  of  his  own  tribe. 
Their  "  fidelity  "  and  "  good  behaviour"  called  forth 
special  praise  from  Johnson.  The  affection  which 
their  native  leader  felt  for  Putnam  kept  these  Caugh- 
nawagas  particularly  loyal  in  this  expedition. 

On  July  3rd,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  flotilla, 
consisting  of  two  vessels, — the  Mohawk,  with  Colonel 
Bradstreet  on  board,  and  the  Johnson,  with  Sir  William 
Johnson, — seventy-five  whaleboats,  numerous  canoes, 
and  other  craft — issued  forth  upon  Lake  Ontario  and 
steered  westward.  A  storm  arose,  much  to  the  con- 
fusion of  the  men,  but  after  several  days  of  rough 
passage  they  all  reached  Fort  Niagara  in  safety.  A 
remarkable  spectacle  greeted  the  soldiers  as  they  landed 
beneath  the  walls  of  the  fort.  A  multitude  of  wigwams 
were  pitched  in  clusters  along  the  edge  of  the  woods 
and  a  vast  number  of  Indians,  the  variety  of  whose 
barbaric  costumes  added  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the 
scene,  strolled  in  groups  over  the  plains  or  lounged 
about  the  sandy  beach.  This  concourse  had  assembled 
at  the  invitation  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  whose  great 
influence  over  the  savages  was  of  signal  service  to  the 
English.     Conferences   were   begun  with  the  deputa- 


i764]        In  Bradstreet' s  Expedition        133 

tions  from  the  numerous  tribes,  and  for  a  month,  while 
the  separate  treaties  were  being  made,  the  main  army 
of  the  English  remained  at  Fort  Niagara. 

After  wearisome  speech-making  and  many  formal- 
ities, such  as  shaking  of  hands,  smoking  of  pipes,  and 
serving  out  of  whiskey,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded 
with  the  Indians  by  which  a  strip  of  land  between  the 
lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  four  miles  wide  on  each  side  of 
the  river  Niagara,  was  ceded  to  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain.  Lieutenant  Montresor  was  now  ordered  by 
Colonel  Bradstreet  to  advance  with  a  detachment  and 
build  "  a  Post  on  the  N.  W.  side  of  the  River  above  the 
rapids  at  the  mouth  of  Lake  Erie."  Israel  Putnam 
and  some  of  his  men  were  among  the  four  hundred  and 
fifty  provincials  who  were  chosen  for  this  work  under 
the  engineer.  The  detachment  left  Fort  Niagara  at 
dawn,  on  July  17th,  and  marched  over  the  rough  port- 
age road  which  led  towards  the  cataract.  Having 
passed  beyond  the  mighty  fall  of  waters,  the  distant 
roar  of  which  still  sounded  in  their  ears,  the  men 
reached  Fort  Schlosser  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
In  two  boats  and  bateaux,  which  had  been  dragged 
hither  by  oxen,  they  now  pushed  out  into  the  Niagara 
River.  That  night  the  soldiers  encamped  on  Navy 
Island.  The  next  day  they  reached  their  destination 
and  were  set  to  work  at  once,  notwithstanding  the  in- 
clement weather.  For  nearly  three  weeks  the  "  work- 
ing-party and  artificers  "  were  busily  engaged  in 
"felling  the  Timber"  and  "cutting  and  burning 
the  Brush"  and  "pointing  the  Stockades"  and  in 
other  labour  connected  with  the  new  military  station 
which  was  named  Fort  Erie. 

On  August  8th,  Bradstreet  with  the  main  army 
reached  Fort  Erie;  and  from  this  new  post,  upon  which 


134  Israel  Putnam  [1764 

they  had  laboured  assiduously,  Putnam  and  the  other 
provincials  accompanied  the  expedition.  The  flotilla 
crossed  the  lake  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  and  coasted 
along  the  southern  shore  until  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Then  the  army  landed  for  the  night.  The 
journey  was  continued  the  next  day,  but  on  account  of 
unfavourable  weather  the  soldiers  encamped  at  L'  Ance- 
aux-Feuilles,  half-way  between  the  present  cities  of 
Buffalo  and  Erie.  While  the  troops  waited  at  this 
place,  holding  themselves  in  readiness,  according  to 
orders,  "  to  embark  in  case  of  a  lull  for  a  push  to 
Presque  Isle  [now  Erie,  Penn.],"  there  arrived  in  camp 
ten  strange  Indians  who  announced  that  they  were  chief 
warriors  and  deputies  whom  the  Delawares,  Shawanese, 
and  Five  Nations  inhabiting  the  Plains  of  Scioto  had 
sent  to  entreat  for  a  peace.  The  fact  that  these  sav- 
ages, who  called  themselves  deputies,  brought  with 
them  only  one  string  of  wampum  with  which  to  confirm 
a  treaty,  aroused  suspicion  at  once,  for,  as  a  contempor- 
aneous account  says,  they  should  have  been  "  better 
provided  with  belts  on  such  an  occasion."  The  Indian 
allies  were  very  desirous  of  the  privilege  of  "  knocking 
the  Impostors  on  the  Head  ' ' ;  and  Putnam  appears  to 
have  been  one  of  the  officers  who,  knowing  from  ex- 
perience the  treacherous  character  of  the  enemy,  warned 
Bradstreet  against  putting  trust  in  the  overtures  of  the 
new  arrivals.  Notwithstanding  the  protests  of  his  fol- 
lowers, the  self-confident  and  headstrong  commander 
entered  into  a  preliminary  treaty  in  which  he  promised 
to  refrain  from  marching  against  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanese,  provided  that  within  twenty-five  days  the 
representatives  of  these  tribes  should  meet  him  at  San- 
dusky for  the  purpose  of  giving  up  prisoners  and  con- 
cluding a  definite  treaty. 


i76-i]       In  Bradstreet's  Expedition        135 

Two  weeks  were  spent  by  the  English  in  passing 
from  L' Ance-aux-Feuilles  to  Fort  Detroit.  During  this 
time  no  serious  accident  occurred,  although  on  certain 
days  the  boats  were  in  considerable  danger,  "  the  wind 
and  surf  being  very  violent."  The  encampment  for 
the  night  was  usually  at  the  mouth  of  a  river.  On 
August  17th  the  troops  were  at  the  Grand  River. 
They  advanced  the  next  day  to  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Cleveland  and  pitched  their  tents  on  the  bank 
of  the  Cuyahoga.  Putnam  and  his  Connecticut  men 
expected  to  take  part  in  an  attack  on  the  Wyandots, 
Ottawas,  and  Miamis,  living  in  the  vicinity  of  San- 
dusky, for  Bradstreet  had  been  ordered  to  give  those 
Indians  a  thorough  chastisement.  At  the  approach  of 
the  English  commander  the  three  tribes  sent  deputies 
to  meet  him,  saying  that  if  he  would  abandon  the  hostile 
plan  against  them  they  would  follow  him  to  Detroit 
and  make  a  treaty  there.  Duped  by  this  promise, 
Bradstreet,  after  a  brief  stay  at  Sandusky,  proceeded 
on  his  way  and  landed  with  his  army  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Raisin  River  for  the  night  of  August  26th.  On 
the  following  day,  "  the  19th  day  from  Fort  Erie,"  the 
flotilla  entered  the  Detroit  River  ;  and  in  the  afternoon, 
with  mingled  feelings  of  relief  and  excitement,  the 
soldiers  saw  before  them  their  destination.  This  fort- 
ified town,  known  as  Fort  Detroit,  stood  on  the  western 
margin  of  the  river  and  contained  about  a  hundred 
houses.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  palisade  twenty-five 
feet  high  ;  a  wooden  bastion  was  built  at  each  corner 
and  a  blockhouse  guarded  each  gateway.  "  On  our 
arrival  near  the  Fort  we  were  saluted  from  thence  & 
the  vessels,"  says  Montresor,  "  which  [cannon  salute] 
was  returned  from  our  Gun  Boats."  Ringing  cheers 
rose  from  the  ramparts  where  the  garrison  had  crowded; 


136  Israel  Putnam 


[1764 


and  on  the  shore  friendly  Indians  shouted,  whooped, 
and  fired  their  guns.  The  heartiness  with  which  the 
soldiers  of  the  fort  welcomed  the  reinforcements  was 
still  further  demonstrated  by  the  joyous  personal  greet- 
ings when  Bradstreet  and  his  men  landed.  The  happi- 
ness of  the  occasion  was  increased  by  the  fact  that 
among  the  new  arrivals  were  friends  and  former  com- 
rades of  different  members  of  the  garrison.  Putnam 
himself  and  Major  Gladwyn,  the  commandant,  had 
served  together  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 

Although  hostilities  had  been  renewed  by  the  In- 
dians in  the  spring  of  1764,  Pontiac  was  still  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Maumee  River,  whither,  in  the  preced- 
ing November,  he  had  retired  from  the  siege  of  Fort 
Detroit.  He  defied  the  English  as  relentlessly  as  ever 
by  stirring  up  the  Indians  agai  nst  this  stronghold.  No 
wonder  that  the  garrison,  having  suffered  for  months 
from  anxieties,  privations,  and  dangers  in  a  region 
swarming  with  revengeful  savages,  rejoiced  in  being 
relieved  by  fresh  troops. 

Bradstreet's  men  encamped  above  the  fort  on  the 
north  side.  The  engineer  was  immediately  ordered 
"  to  make  a  Design  &  estimate  for  Barracks  for  400 
men  to  be  constructed  within  the  Fort. ' '  He  completed 
the  "  Plans  &  Sections"  on  August  28th  ;  and  two 
days  later  a  band  of  men  under  Putnam  began  felling 
trees  on  an  adjacent  island  which  was  known  then  as 
Isle-au-Cochon  and  which  has  since  become  one  of  the 
parks  of  the  city  of  Detroit,  Belle  Isle.  The  timber 
was  to  be  used  in  building  not  only  the  proposed  bar- 
racks but  also  "  two  scows  for  bringing  of  Stone  & 
other  materials."  These  boats  were  to  be  "  70  feet  in 
length  by  18  in  Breadth,  to  carry  25  Tons." 

On  the  31st  of  August,   Montresor  records  :  "  The 


1764]        In  Bradstreet's  Expedition         137 

party  with  Col.  Putnam,  consisting  of  200  narrow  ax 
men  cutting  Timber  for  Barracks,  still  remain  at  work." 
And  they  continued  at  their  task  until  September  7th, 
on  which  date  there  is,  in  the  same  journal,  this  entry: 
"  Came  down  from  Isle  au  Cochon  Colonel  Putnam  and 
the  party  of  Provincials  that  have  been  employed  there 
cutting  of  Timber  for  carrying  on  the  works  here." 

It  was  doubtless  to  assist  in  the  military  display  which 
had  been  ordered  at  the  fort  that  the  detachment  under 
Putnam  was  summoned  from  the  island  ;  for  on  this 
day  Bradstreet  held  an  open-air  council  with  the  In- 
dians, and  wished  to  inspire  among  them  great  awe 
of  English  arms.*  The  concourse  of  savages,  which 
Putnam  and  his  men  saw,  on  approaching  the  fort,  was 
similar  in  some  respects  to  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Niagara  several  weeks  before.  It  was,  however,  smaller 
than  Bradstreet  had  expected,  for  although  it  included 
Wyandots,  Ottawas,  Miamis,  Sacs,  Ojibwas,  and  Potta- 
wattamies,  the  tribes  dwelling  near  Sandusky  had  only 
partially  kept  their  promise  to  be  present  at  Fort  De- 
troit. In  the  presence  of  the  soldiers  on  parade  and 
after  harangues  and  barbaric  formalities,  the  Indians 
took  the  "  Oaths  of  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  his  Brit- 
tanic  Majesty."  The  savages  supposed,  however,  that 
they  were  simply  asked  to  call  themselves  children  of 
the  King  of  England  out  of  compliment  to  him.  They 
could  not  comprehend  that  subjection  and  sovereignty 
were  involved  in  their  action. 

Putnam,  who  thoroughlv  understood  Indian  charac- 


*  Major  Thomas  Mante,  who  accompanied  this  expedition, 
gives  an  account  of  this  council  with  the  Indians  in  his  History 
of  the  late  War  in  North  America,  Including  the  Campaign  of 
7763  and  1764.  against  His  Majesty s  Indian  Enemies,  pp.  517- 
524. 


138  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

ter,  must  have  realised  how  impracticable  and  absurd 
were  Bradstreet's  negotiations  for  peace  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  he  must  have  been  surprised  that  the  com- 
mander so  utterly  disregarded  savage  custom  as  to  hack 
in  pieces  with  a  hatchet  a  belt  of  wampum  which  had 
been  brought  to  be  used  in  the  council — an  act  of  Brad- 
street  that  aroused  the  indignation  of  all  the  Indians 
present,  both  friends  and  enemies. 

The  week  which  followed  the  council  of  September 
7th  was  spent  by  Putnam  at  the  fort.  On  September 
13th,  Bradstreet  was  startled  by  news  from  Sandusky, 
"  that  the  Indians  to  the  number  of  800  warriors  had 
assembled  there  to  oppose  our  troops  from  disembark- 
ing as  proposed,  instead  of  ratifying  the  treaty."  De- 
termined that  his  arrangement  of  August  12th  for 
meeting  the  Delaware  and  Shawanese  deputies  by  the 
middle  of  September  should  not  thus  be  frustrated, 
Bradstreet  issued  orders  at  once  for  the  troops  to  decamp 
and  embark  on  the  morrow  for  Sandusky.  At  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  midst  of  the  beautiful 
autumn  scenery,  for  the  trees  on  shore  had  already 
begun  to  "  change  their  Hue,"  the  flotilla,  consisting 
of  "  60  of  the  I<ong  Boats  and  one  Barge,"  glided  down 
the  Detroit  River  and  issued  forth  upon  I,ake  Erie. 
Putnam,  like  every  soldier  in  the  expedition,  expected 
to  be  engaged  soon  in  fierce  combat  with  the  savage 
foe;  but  on  the  way  Bradstreet  was  met  by  news  differ- 
ent from  several  reports  which  had  previously  reached 
him.  "  Accounts  now  arrived,"  so  writes  the  engineer 
on  the  third  day  after  leaving  Fort  Detroit,  "  that  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  are  assembled  at  Sandusky 
where  the  old  Fort  stood,  in  order  to  treat  with  us  for 
Peace,  agreeable  to  their  appointment." 

The  troops  entered  Sandusky  I^ake  or  Bay  about  two 


i764]       In  Bradstreet' s  Expedition        139 

o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  September  18th,  and,  after 
some  delay  in  finding  a  suitable  place  to  land,  en- 
camped on  a  "  good  clay  beach,"  half  a  mile  west  of 
the  spot  where,  sixteen  months  previous,  Pontiac's  fol- 
lowers had  butchered  the  English  garrison  and  burned 
the  fort. 

None  of  the  deputies  whom  Bradstreet  had  expected 
were  in  sight,  but  soon  several  savages  approached  the 
camp  with  a  pledge  that  if  he  would  not  attack  the  In- 
dian villages  in  the  vicinity  the  promises  to  surrender 
prisoners  and  conclude  a  definite  treaty  would  be  ful- 
filled within  a  week.  So  seven  more  days  were  granted 
to  the  delinquent  Delawares  and  Shawanese.  Before 
that  time  expired  Bradstreet' s  whole  force,  according 
to  Montresor, 

"embarked  and  proceeded  and  encamped  one  mile  below  the 
Rapids  [of  the  Sandusky  River]  in  order  to  meet  them  [the 
deputies]  one  day  sooner,  and  also  to  be  so  much  nearer  to 
attack  their  villages  on  the  Ohio  should  they  fail  to  comply 
with  every  article  alluded  to  in  the  Treaty  of  Peace." 

It  was  at  this  "  Camp  near  the  Huron  Village  on 
Sandusky  River  "  that  Putnam,  on  the  evening  of  Sep- 
tember 23rd,  served  as  "  Field  officer  for  the  Picket."  * 
Here,  too,  he  presided  one  morning  at  a  "  General 
Court  Martial"  held  at  eight  o'clock  at  his  own  tent 
"  to  try  all  Prisoners  brought  before  them." 

Again  the  credulous  Bradstreet  was  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment about  meeting  the  Indian  deputies,   for 


*  Regimental  Orderly  Book.  Subsequent  entries  in  this  doc- 
ument mention  Putnam  as  "  Field  officer  for  Picket  "  under  the 
following  places  and  dates  :  "Camp  Carrying  place  near  San- 
dusky Lake  3rd  Oct1;  1764"  ;  "  Camp  near  La  Rivierre  Roche* 
[Rocky  River],  Oct1:  19th";  "Grand  River,  Oct!  25th"; 
"Grand  River,  Octor  29th." 


140  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

the  seven  days  passed  away,  and  not  a  chief  appeared. 
Then  the  army  returned  down  the  Sandusky  River, 
crossed  the  bay,  and  encamped  at  the  carrying-place  of 
Sandusky.  A  body  of  men  was  immediately  set  to  work 
clearing  ground  for  the  construction  of  a  fort.  This 
working  party  was  composed  of  provincials  under  Put- 
nam. Nearly  a  month  was  spent  by  the  troops  at  the 
carrying- place  of  Sandusky.  Here  Putnam  wrote  an 
interesting  letter  to  Major  Drake  of  Norwich,  Connect- 
icut, describing  some  personal  impressions  on  this 
expedition  and  also  obstacles  met  with  in  dealing  with 
the  Indians.  The  original  manuscript  is  not  in  exist- 
ence, but  the  letter  was  printed  in  the  Boston  Gazette 
of  December  24,  1764,  and  in  that  form — the  errors  in 
spelling  and  punctuation,  to  which  Putnam  was  prone, 
having  been  corrected  by  the  editor  of  the  old  news- 
paper— it  has  been  preserved  to  us.  The  letter,  which 
is  dated  October  7,  1764,  begins  with  a  description  of 
the  country  around  Sandusky  and  Detroit  : 

11 1  can  tell  you  the  land  here  is  good  enough,  and  suppose 
you  will  think  it  strange  if  I  should  tell  you  that  in  many 
places  in  this  country  there  are  ten  or  twenty  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  a  place  that  have  not  a  bush  or  twig  on  them,  but  all 
covered  with  grass  so  big  and  high  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
travel — and  all  as  good  plough-laud  as  ever  you  saw  ;  any  of  it 
fit  for  hemp ;  but  there  are  too  many  hemp  birds  among  it, 
which  will  make  it  very  unhealthy  to  live  among.  Detroit  is  a 
very  beautiful  place  and  the  country  around  it." 

Putnam  writes  next,  in  this  letter,  of  the  messengers 
who  were  dispatched  in  order  to  persuade  the  Indians 
to  treat  of  peace  : 

"We  sent  out  [August  16th]  an  officer  and  three  Indians  to  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  from  Presque  Isle,  who  returned  [in 
October]  and  were  illy  used  [by  the  enemy].     We  sent  the  like 


1764]        In  Bradstreet's  Expedition         141 

number  [August  26th]  from  Sandusky,  but  all  before  any  one 
returned.  From  Sandusky  we  sent  Captain  Montieur  [Mon- 
tour] and  Captain  Peters  ;  from  [Sandusky,  by  way  of  the] 
Maumee  [River],  we  sent  Captain  [Thomas]  Morris  of  the  17th 
[Regiment],  and  one  Thomas  King  with  three  Indians." 

Putnam  and  Morris  had  been  comrades  in  other  cam- 
paigns. The  melancholy  experience  of  the  latter,  on 
his  embassy  to  the  Illinois,  is  mentioned  in  this  letter. 
Morris  reached  Fort  Detroit  after  the  main  army  had 
left  there,  but  he  forwarded  to  Sandusky  his  journal, 
giving  an  account  of  the  treatment  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  savages.     Putnam  speaks  of  him  thus  : 

"  Captain  Morris  returned  [to  Fort  Detroit]  some  time  ago 
[September  17th]  and  was  much  abused,  and  stripped,  and 
whipped,  and  threatened  to  be  tomahawked,  but  had  his  life 
spared  in  case  he  would  return." 

Captain  King's  adventures  and  his  speech  to  the  In- 
dian allies  on  his  return  to  Sandusky,  are  now  related 
in  Putnam's  letter  : 

"  Captain  Thomas  King  and  three  of  the  Kanawawas  [Caugh- 
nawagas]  proceeded.  This  Captain  King  is  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  Oneida  Castle  ;  and  about  ten  days  ago  King  came  into 
Detroit  and  had  left  all  the  Kanawawas,  who  gave  out  for  want 
of  provisions  and  could  not  travel ;  he  supposed  they  all  per- 
ished in  the  woods.  And  three  days  ago  [October  4th]  he  arrived 
here  [Sandusky],  and  yesterday  he  had  a  conference  with  the 
Indians  ;  and  when  all  assembled  he  made  a  speech  to  them. 
After  some  talk  with  them,  he  expressed  himself  in  this 
manner : 

"'Friends  and  Brothers:  I  am  now  about  to  acquaint  you 
with  facts  too  obvious  to  deny.  I  have  been,  since  I  left  you, 
to  Monsieur  Pontuck's  [Pontiac's]  camp,  and  waited  on  him  to 
see  if  he  was  willing  to  come  in  and  make  peace  with  our 
brothers,  the  English.  He  asked  me  what  I  meant  by  all  that, 
saying,  "  You  have  always  encouraged  me  to  carry  on  the  war 


142  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

against  the  English,  and  you  said  the  only  reason  you  did  not 
join  me  last  year  was  the  want  of  ammunition,  and  as  soon  as 
you  could  get  ammunition  you  would  join  me."  '  " 

The  remainder  of  King's  speech  at  Sandusky  is  re- 
ported by  Putnam,  in  the  third  person  : 

"  King  said  [that  he  told  Pontiac  that]  there  was  nothing  in 
it  [Pontiac's  claim  that  the  Six  Nations  w7ere  hostile  to  the 
English],  at  which  [statement  by  King]  Pontuck  [Pontiac] 
produced  six  belts  of  wampum,  that  he  had  had  the  last  year 
from  the  Six  Nations  and  [Pontiac]  said,  'The  English  are  so 
exhausted  they  can  do  no  more,  and  one  year's  war,  well 
pushed,  will  drive  them  into  the  sea.'  " 

The  letter  mentions  next  how  King,  after  telling  the 
Indian  allies  at  Sandusky  about  this  visit  to  Pontiac, 
paused  in  his  speech,  and,  resuming,  accused  them  of 
treachery  : 

"  King  then  made  a  stop  for  some  time  [after  which  he 
added],  '  Brothers,  you  know  this  [the  giving  of  belts  to  Pon- 
tiac] to  be  true,  and  you  have  always  deceived  me.'  " 

In  describing  the  effect  of  these  words,  Putnam 
tersely  expresses  his  opinion  of  alliances  with  savages: 

"At  which  [accusation  by  King]  the  Six  Nations  were  all 
angry,  and  this  day  they  are  all  packing  up  to  go  off;  and  what 
will  be  the  event  I  don't  know  nor  don't  care,  for  I  have  no 
faith  in  an  Indian  peace  patched  up  by  presents." 

Notwithstanding  their  threats,  all  the  Indian  allies 
did  not  desert.  This  was  more  surprising,  since  they 
were  already  greatly  disaffected  by  Bradstreet's  treat- 
ment of  them  on  this  expedition.  He  was  continually 
rebuking  and  cursing  them.  But  to  continue  Putnam's 
letter  to  the  end  : 


1764]        In  Bradstreet's  Expedition        143 

"Yesterday  [October  6th]  Captain  Peters  arrived,  which  is  the 
last  party  we  had  out.  Capt.  Peters  says  the  Wyandots  are  all 
coming  in ;  but  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawanese  are  not 
coming,  nor  durst  they  come,  for  they  are  afraid  that  if  they 
should  come  here  Colonel  Bouquet  will  be  on  their  towns  and 
castles.  For  he  has  sent  to  them  to  come  and  make  peace, 
and,  on  the  contrary,  if  they  should  go  to  him  we  should  be  on 
them.  They  intend  to  be  still  until  Bouquet  first  comes  to 
them,  and  then  send  out  and  make  peace  if  possible  ;  if  not,  to 
fight  him  as  long  as  they  have  a  man  left.  But,  believe  me, 
they  wait  to  get  some  advantage  of  us  before  they  try  for  peace. 
Capt.  Peters  says  Bouquet  is  within  thirty  miles  of  their  towns, 
and  believes  he  is  to  make  peace  with  them  ;  for  Colonel  Brad- 
street  had  orders  from  General  Gage  eight  days  ago  to  make 
no  peace  with  them,  but  to  march  and  meet  Bouquet.  But,  on 
calling  a  council  of  war  and  examining  the  Indians  and  French- 
men who  were  acquainted  with  the  road,  it  was  found  to  be 
thirty  leagues  to  travel  by  land,  and  nothing  to  carry  any  pro- 
visions but  on  men's  backs,  which,  allowing  for  hindrances, 
must  take  forty  days  to  go  and  come.  There  are  four  large 
rivers  to  pass,  two  of  which  must  be  crossed  with  rafts,  and  that 
very  difficult.  Considering  the  season  of  the  year  it  was  judged 
impracticable.  And  here  we  are,  and  for  what  I  know  not,  nor 
when  we  are  to  leave  it." 

The  uncertainty  regarding  the  future  movements  of 
the  army,  which  Putnam  mentions  in  closing  his  letter, 
continued,  ten  days  longer.  The  general  discontent 
among  the  soldiers,  caused  by  illness  and  failing  pro- 
visions, was  increased  by  the  irascibility  of  Bradstreet. 
Enraged  at  being  censured  by  Gage  for  his  manner  of 
making  treaties,  he  was  in  no  mood  to  carry  out  the 
orders  to  attack  the  savages  living  upon  the  plains  of 
the  Scioto.  Finally,  declaring  that  the  difficulties  in 
reaching  that  region  at  the  advanced  season  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  obey  the  instructions  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, and  also  that  it  was  unnecessary  to 
spend  more  time  upon  the  fort  at  the  carrying-place  of 


144  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

Sandusky,  Bradstreet  decided  to  set  out  for  home  with 
his  army  without  delay. 

Having  spent  the  whole  of  the  first  day,  after  leaving 
Sandusky,  in  coasting  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Erie,  the  troops,  towards  evening,  were  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Rocky  River,  "  wherein," — so  Bradstreet  was 
told — "  a  thousand  boats  could  lie  with  safety."  But 
instead  of  advancing  thither  for  the  night,  the  self- 
confident  commander  ordered  his  men  to  encamp  on  a 
"  Sandy  Beach."  The  disastrous  folly  of  choosing  so 
exposed  a  spot  was  soon  apparent,  for  a  little  after  dark 
the  weather,  which  had  been  "  moderate,  rather  calm," 
changed  and  became  very  threatening.  The  severity 
of  the  storm,  which  soon  began  to  rage,  was  increased 
by  snow  and  sleet.  The  night  was  full  of  excitement 
and  distress.  Next  morning  the  tempest  continued; 
yet  some  of  the  men  set  to  work  repairing  such  boats 
as  had  not  been  totally  wrecked,  and  other  soldiers  col- 
lected a  portion  of  the  baggage  and  provisions  which 
were  scattered  along  the  shore.  During  the  three  days 
that  the  tempestuous  weather  lasted  Putnam  was  kept 
very  busy  directing  some  of  the  repairs  occasioned  by 
the  damages  from  the  angry  surf.  By  October  21st, 
the  "  violent  gale"  had  subsided  sufficiently  for  the 
army  to  proceed,  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  boats  had  been  dashed  to  pieces,  some  of  the  pro- 
vincials and  Indians  were  ordered  to  make  the  journey 
to  Niagara  on  foot.  Putnam  was  with  the  main  army 
on  the  lake  ;  and  the  hardships  there  were  great.  At 
times  on  the  two-weeks'  voyage  to  Fort  Erie,  the  boats 
were  "  in  danger  of  filling  by  a  prodigious  surf."  On 
account  of  the  limited  number  of  boats,  Bradstreet 
ordered  a  second  detachment  to  travel  by  land,  and, 


1764]  Bradstreet's  Expedition  145 

being  unable  to  transport  all  his  ammunition,  he  de- 
cided to  conceal  a  portion  of  it.  So  there  was  a  mid- 
night enterprise  and  "  several  Keggs  and  Boxes  of 
musket  and  carbine  Ball  "  were  secretly  buried  on  shore. 
Putnam  still  accompanied  the  main  army.  While 
the  soldiers  were  waiting  near  the  mouth  of  the  Grand 
River  for  a  storm  to  subside,  that  they  might  proceed  in 
their  boats,  they  descried  one  morning  a  schooner  on 
the  lake,  evidently  bound  for  Fort  Detroit.  The  pro- 
spect of  succour  put  new  heart  into  the  suffering  troops, 
but,  alas!  their  efforts  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
passing  vessel  were  all  in  vain.  After  days  of  intense 
distress,  the  famishing  soldiers  finally  reached  the  east- 
ern end  of  Lake  Erie.  They  hastily  disembarked  and, 
with  reviving  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  relief,  pressed 
on  over  the  portage  road  towards  Fort  Niagara.  Faint 
and  deadly  fatigued,  they  arrived  there  on  November 
4th.  "  Some  oxen  killed  for  the  Troops,"  writes  Mon- 
tresor,  in  referring  to  the  feast  which  was  quickly  pre- 
pared ;  and  now  the  starving  men  thankfully  regaled 
themselves.  Near  the  fort  three  schooners  lay  anchored , 
in  which  the  regulars  were  to  sail  along  the  southern 
side  of  Lake  Ontario  to  Oswego.  The  provincials  were 
to  take  the  same  route,  ' 'in  the  long  boats  and  bateaux. ' ' 
All  the  troops  embarked  on  November  8th.  On  the 
fourth  day  after  their  departure  from  Fort  Niagara 
they  were  overtaken  by  a  tempest  on  this  second  lake 
and  were  again  in  great  peril.  One  of  the  schooners 
was  cast  away,  having  lost  her  rudder,  but  all  on  board 
were  saved.  Putnam  and  the  provincials  had  an  ex- 
perience most  exciting  and  hazardous.  It  was  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  most  of  the  men  reached 
the  shore.  Their  boats  and  bateaux  were  damaged  ; 
and  there  had  been  the  harrowing  spectacle  of  comrades 


H6  Israel  Putnam  [i764 

perishing  in  the  angry  waters.  "  All  this  night," 
writes  Montresor  at  the  close  of  his  record  of  the  calam- 
itous and  heart-sickening  nth  of  November,  "  a  per- 
fect Tempest  with  a  snow  drift,  the  wind  chiefly  N.  W. 
and  extremely  cold." 

With  as  many  men  as  were  able,  in  spite  of  their 
sufferings,  to  travel — Putnam  was  one  of  them — Brad- 
street  set  out  at  once  for  the  Hudson  River.  The 
journey  thither  was  a  comparatively  easy  one.  The 
regulars  went  into  winter  quarters  and  the  provincials 
were  disbanded.  By  the  first  of  December,  Putnam 
reached  home. 

The  expedition  under  Bradstreet  was  the  last  warlike 
enterprise  in  which  Putnam  was  destined  to  serve  be- 
fore the  days  of  the  American  Revolution.  Indeed,  the 
war  against  Pontiac,  so  far  as  campaigns  and  battles 
were  concerned,  ended  in  1764,  for  subsequent  plots  of 
the  hostile  chief  proved  of  little  avail ;  and,  finally,  after 
he  had  sued  for  peace,  he  was  assassinated  by  a  Kas- 
kasian  Indian,  whom  an  Bnglish  trader  had  bribed  to 
commit  the  deed. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE   HONOURED   CITIZEN 


1765-1772 


HE  period  of  Israel  Putnam's  life  which 
immediately  followed  his  ten  years  of 
military  experience  has  been  truly 
characterised  by  Washington  Irving. 
"  Since  the  peace,"  says  this  writer, 
"  he  had  returned  to  agricultural  life, 
and  was  now  a  farmer  at  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut, 
where  the  scars  of  his  wounds  and  the  tales  of  his  ex- 
ploits rendered  him  a  hero  in  popular  estimation." 
Soon  after  this  "  soldier  of  native  growth," — as  Irving 
calls  Putnam, — "  seasoned  and  proved  in  frontier  cam- 
paigning," had  been  welcomed  back  by  fellow-colonists, 
his  happiness  was  clouded  by  heavy  sorrow.  On  Jan- 
uary 24,  1765,  less  than  two  months  since  the  glad 
home  reunion,  death  crossed  the  hero's  threshold  and 
bore  away  his  daughter — just  passing  from  girlhood 
into  young  womanhood  —  Elizabeth,  seventeen  years 
of  age.  In  the  following  spring,  April  6th,  Putnam 
was  again  bereaved,  this  time  of  his  devoted  wife  Han- 
nah. During  their  nearly  twenty-six  years  of  wedded 
life  ten  children  in  all  had  been  born  to  them,  of  whom 
seven  —  three  sons  and  four  daughters  —  were  living  at 

147 


148  Israel  Putnam 


1765- 


the  time  that  the  family  was  left  motherless.  The 
youngest  child — a  son,  born  on  the  last  day  of  Decem- 
ber,— was  now  only  three  months  old.  He  had  been 
named  Peter  Schuyler.  This  was  in  grateful  remem- 
brance of  the  kindness  shown  Putnam  by  Colonel  Peter 
Schuyler  during  the  days  of  captivity  at  Montreal  in 
1758. 

It  would  seem  that  Putnam's  affliction  was  the  im- 
mediate reason  for  the  greater  interest  which  he  took 
in  religious  things.  Six  weeks  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church.  "  Received  to  full  communion  1765  May  19th 
Col.  Israel  Putnam  "  is  the  record  of  the  action  as  it 
appears  in  the  original  Brooklyn  Parish  register.  This 
new  relationship  strengthened  the  friendship  which 
already  existed  between  himself  and  the  kind  and 
sympathetic  pastor,  Rev.  Josiah  Whitney. 

During  the  next  two  years  Putnam  made  many 
needed  improvements  in  cultivating  his  land  ;  and  he 
gave,  as  he  had  done  before  the  war,  particular  atten- 
tion to  his  fruit  trees.  An  important  event  of  neigh- 
bourhood interest  at  this  period  was  the  arrival,  in  the 
"  Mortlake  District,"  of  Colonel  Godfrey  Malbone,  a 
retired  merchant.  He  was  a  graduate  of  King's  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  and  had  travelled  widely.  Having  in- 
herited from  his  father  a  large  estate  in  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  he  had  built  a  country-house  there  at 
considerable  cost,  but  no  sooner  was  it  finished  than  it 
was  destroyed  by  fire.  This  misfortune,  together  with 
his  financial  embarrassments  occasioned  by  the  impend- 
ing American  Revolution,  led  Malbone,  who  was  a 
strong  loyalist  and,  therefore,  very  unpopular,  to 
remove  from  Newport  early  in  1766.  His  reason  for 
coming  to  Pomfret  was  that  he  had  already  owned,  for 


1772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  149 

many  years  past,  several  thousand  acres  there,  most 
of  which  land  was  included  in  the  original  Mortlake 
district.  He  hoped,  in  now  settling  upon  and  cultivat- 
ing this  large  estate  in  Eastern  Connecticut,  to  suffer 
less  than  formerly  on  account  of  political  troubles. 
This  new  townsman  cared  nothing  for  the  Pomfret 
people  in  general  ;  indeed  he  kept  aloof  from  them  as 
much  as  possible.  But  to  the  farmer-soldier  whose  pro- 
perty adjoined  his  own  he  took  a  liking  at  once,  for  he 
found  that  this  neighbour's  horizon  had  been  widened 
beyond  local  affairs  by  acquaintance  with  many  of  the 
best  officers  in  the  British  army  and  by  a  remarkably 
adventurous  career.  So,  in  spite  of  Mai  bone's  bluutness 
of  manner  and  his  indifference  to  Pomfret' s  interests,  a 
fellowship  was  soon  established  between  himself  and 
the  friendly,  open-hearted  Putnam,  who  was  ever 
ready  with  personal  reminiscence  and  good-humoured 
repartee. 

Although  the  two  men  maintained  pleasant  personal 
relationships,  their  "  verbal  skirmishes  "  were  not  in- 
frequent, for  they  differed  greatly  in  their  opinions  of 
the  measures  adopted  by  Parliament  for  raising  money 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
and  to  support,  as  a  defence  against  the  savages  on  the 
frontiers,  a  standing  army  in  America.  Unlike  Mal- 
bone,  who  attempted  to  defend  the  policy  of  the  Crown, 
Putnam  was  imbued  with  democratic  principles  and 
expressed  himself  strongly  against  that  which  seemed 
to  him  to  be  an  encroachment  on  the  rights  of  free  born 
Englishmen.  His  positive  convictions  were  a  result 
not  only  of  his  sturdy  common  sense,  but  also  of  his 
"  occasional  reading."  Moreover,  he  was  deeply  sens- 
ible of  the  fact  that  the  chartered  government  of 
Connecticut  gave  him  and  every  fellow-inhabitant  of 


150  Israel  Putnam  [i765- 

the  colony  a  special  right  to  protest  against  royal  inter- 
ference. The  attempts  of  the  British  Ministry,  after 
the  fall  of  the  French  power  in  Canada,  to  revive  and 
enforce  in  America  such  revenue  laws  as  the  Naviga- 
tion Act  and  the  Molasses  Act,  were  obnoxious  enough 
to  most  of  the  colonists,  for  the  chief  object  of  King 
George  III.  and  his  advisers  evidently  was  to  regulate 
commerce  in  the  New  World  so  that  the  greatest  gain 
might  accrue  to  the  mother  country.  It  was  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  the  indignation  of  Americans,  who  re- 
sented all  arbitrary  requisitions,  was  still  further 
aroused  when  they  leared  that  Parliament  intended  to 
levy  a  direct  tax  upon  them  in  order  that  they  might 
help  pay  off  the  war  debt.  This  proposed  measure,  the 
Stamp  Act,  which  required  all  legal  documents  to 
bear  stamps,  was  opposed  by  the  colonists,  not  because 
they  were  unwilling  to  aid  in  removing  the  national 
financial  burdens,  but  because  they  recognised  the  in- 
justice of  being  taxed  by  a  legislative  body  in  which 
they  were  not  represented.  Vigorous  were  the  remon- 
strances of  the  different  assemblies  against  this  method 
of  raising  money  ;  and  Putnam's  own  colony  took  a 
leading  part  by  sending  her  memorial  to  England, 
stating  the  "  Reasons  why  the  British  colonies  in 
America  should  not  be  charged  with  Internal  Taxes." 
Despite  the  efforts  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  hated 
law,  Parliament  voted  in  its  favour  and,  on  March  22, 
1765,  it  received  the  King's  assent. 

When  the  news  of  the  enactment  of  the  Stamp  Act 
reached  America,  there  was  a  great  outburst  of  indig- 
nation. Months  of  intense  agitation  followed.  While 
James  Otis  and  Samuel  Adams,  in  the  North,  and 
Patrick  Henry,  in  the  South,  by  speeches  and  resolu- 
tions, were  arousing  the  people  to  action,  and  while 


i772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  15 l 

the  different  colonies  were  arranging  for  a  general  con- 
gress in  order  to  decide  upon  some  concerted  course  for 
resisting  the  arbitrary  measures  which  subverted  their 
rights,  Putnam,  who  had  joined  one  of  the  secret 
societies  of  workingmen  known  as  "  Sons  of  Liberty," 
was  taking  a  leading  part  as  a  champion  of  freedom  in 
Connecticut.  We  find  him  riding  from  town  to  town 
through  the  eastern  part  of  the  colony  to  see  what  num- 
ber of  men  could  be  relied  upon  to  make  an  armed  re- 
sistance to  the  obnoxious  law.  Reports  of  his  patriotic 
energy  spread  to  New  York,  as  we  learn  from  a  British 
officer  who  was  stationed  there. 

"By  advice  from  Connecticut,"  writes  this  contemporary, 
"  matters  are  arrived  to  greater  lengths  than  in  any  other  pro- 
vince, having  already  provided  themselves  with  a  magazine  for 
Arms,  Ammunition,  &c,  and  10,000  men  at  the  shortest  warn- 
ing for  opposing  the  Stamp  Act,  &c,  all  under  the  Command 
of  a  Connecticut  man,  called  Col.  Putnam,  one  that  has  re- 
ceived his  Majesty's  money,  having  been  employ'd  during  the 
War  as  a  Provincial  Colonel."  * 

Having  so  successfully  stirred  up  the  inhabitants  of 
his  own  colony  to  oppose  a  measure,  the  principle  of 
which  was  a  greater  insult  to  Connecticut  than  to  any 
other  colony  except  Rhode  Island,  Putnam  sent  mes- 
sages to  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in  Massachusetts,  New 
York,  and  elsewhere,  that  he  "  would  assist  them  with 
the  [Connecticut]  Militia  to  the  utmost  lives  and 
fortunes  to  prevent  the  Stamp  Act  being  enforced." 

At  this  period  of  the  excitement,  Putnam  was  sud- 
denly disabled  by  "  an  accident."  Owing  to  this  mis- 
fortune, the  details  of  which  have  not  come  down  to  us, 
he  was  prevented  for  a  while  from  taking  any  further 

*  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  1881,  p.  355. 


152  Israel  Putnam  [1765- 

part  in  the  general  uprising.  We  can  easily  under- 
stand how  the  spirit  of  the  impetuous  patriot  chafed  at 
being  kept  at  Pomfret  while  a  great  body  of  yeomen 
from  Eastern  Connecticut,  whom  he  had  expected  to 
lead  in  person,  started  in  September  to  meet  Jared 
Ingersoll  of  New  Haven,  the  stamp  agent,  who,  it  was 
reported,  was  on  his  way  to  Hartford  to  execute  the 
duties  of  his  office.  Before  Parliament  passed  the 
Stamp  Act,  Ingersoll  had  been  sent  to  England  to  pro- 
test against  the  bill,  but,  after  its  enactment,  so  little  did 
he  realise  the  political  ferment  at  home  that  he  con- 
sented to  serve  as  the  distributer  of  the  stamped  paper 
in  his  own  colony.  Putnam  must  have  enjoyed  a 
hearty  laugh  when  he  heard  how  Ingersoll  was  inter- 
cepted on  his  approach  to  Hartford,  how  he  was  com- 
pelled to  mount  a  table  and  read  his  resignation,  which 
was  already  prepared  for  him,  how  he  was  made  to 
shout  three  times,  "  Liberty  and  property,"  and  how, 
in  continuing  his  journey,  as  he  rode  on  his  white 
horse,  escorted  by  the  great  cavalcade  of  farmers  and 
freeholders,  he  was  heard  to  remark  that  he  now  under- 
stood the  meaning  of  that  passage  in  the  Book  of  Re- 
velation which  describes  "  Death  on  a  pale  horse  and 
hell  following  him." 

Although  this  Connecticut  affair  ended  in  such  good 
humour  that  Ingersoll  himself  could  indulge  in  pleas- 
antry, many  of  the  opponents  of  the  British  Government 
were  ready  to  act  in  a  more  violent  manner.  The  Sons 
of  Liberty  declared  that  they  would  "  fight  up  to  their 
knees  in  blood  rather  than  suffer  the  Stamp  Act  to  be 
put  in  force."  The  agents  who  had  in  their  possession 
the  stamps  destined  for  Connecticut  dared  not  send 
them  thither,  one  reason  being  the  "  report  of  a  con- 
versation "  which  reached  them  in  the  late  autumn  of 


1772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  153 

1765  from  that  colony.  Putnam  had  recovered  suffi- 
ciently from  his  recent  injury  to  go  to  Hartford,  and 
no  sooner  had  he  arrived  there  than  he  was  delegated 
by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  to  wait,  with  two  others  of  their 
number,  on  Governor  Thomas  Fitch,  who  was  inclined 
to  submit  to  the  royal  will. 

"  The  questions  of  the  Governor  and  the  answers  of  Putnam," 
says  Humphreys,  who  is  our  authority  for  the  story  of  this  in- 
terview, "  will  serve  to  indicate  the  spirit  of  the  times.  After 
some  conversation  the  Governor  asked,  '  what  he  should  do  if 
the  stamped  paper  should  be  sent  to  him  by  the  King's  author- 
ity?' Putnam  replied,  'Lock  it  up  until  we  [Sons  of  Liberty] 
shall  visit  you  again.'  'And  what  will  you  do  then?'  'We 
shall  expect  you  to  give  us  the  key  of  the  room  in  which  it  is 
deposited  ;  and,  if  you  think  fit,  in  order  to  screen  yourself 
from  blame,  you  may  forewarn  us  upon  our  peril  not  to  enter 
the  room.'  'And  what  will  you  do  afterwards?'  'Send  it 
safely  back  again.'  '  But  what  if  I  should  refuse  admission  ?  ' 
'  In  such  case  your  house  will  be  levelled  with  the  dust  in  five 
minutes.'  " 

Putnam's  bold  attitude,  not  only  on  this  occasion, 
but  also  during  the  winter,  helped  to  keep  at  high  pitch 
the  spirit  of  resistance  and  to  foil  the  attempts  of  the 
stamp  agents  to  enforce  the  law.  The  Sons  of  Liberty, 
who  assembled  at  Canterbury,  Connecticut,  in  March, 
1766,  chose  him  and  Hugh  Ledlie  as  the  Windham 
County  Committee  to  correspond  with  members  of  the 
secret  organisation  in  the  neighbouring  colonies,  in 
order  to  encourage  firm  and  united  action  in  opposing 
the  Stamp  Act.  When  delegates  from  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  in  every  town  in  Connecticut  met  at  Hartford 
in  the  same  spring,  Putnam  was  made  chairman  of 
a  committee  of  eight  who  were  appointed  to  carry  on  a 
similar  correspondence. 

The  people   of   Pomfret,    proud  of  the  recognised 


154  Israel  Putnam  i765- 

leadership  of  their  townsman,  and  knowing  the  import- 
ance of  his  influence  in  the  colonial  legislature,  elected  * 
him  as  one  of  their  two  representatives  in  1766,  his 
colleague  being  Jonathan  Dresser.  The  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  were  gathering  at  Hartford  for 
the  spring  session  of  that  year,  when  news  arrived  from 
England  which  was  hailed  with  unbounded  joy  through- 
out the  colonies.  The  Stamp  Act,  after  fierce  debate 
in  Parliament,  had  been  repealed.  With  enthusiastic 
delight,  Putnam  joined  his  fellow-legislators  in  request- 
ing "  his  Honour  the  Governor  to  consider  of  and  pre- 
pare an  humble,  dutiful  and  loyal  Address  "  of  thanks 
to  the  King  and  also  "  to  return  the  most  ardent  and 
grateful  thanks  of  this  Assembly  to  all  those  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  as  the  friends  and  advocates  of 
the  British  Colonies  in  America. ' '  At  Hartford,  on  Fri- 
day, May  23rd,  Connecticut's  "  day  for  public  Thanks- 
giving "  because  of  the  "  beneficial  repeal  of  the  late 
Stamp  Act,"  Putnam  must  have  entered  fully  into  the 
spirit  of  the  "  happy  occasion,"  a  day  which  was  not 
only  "  religiously  observed  "  but  also  celebrated  by  the 
ringing  of  bells,  the  display  of  colours  on  the  shipping 
in  the  river,  illuminations,  and  the  firing  of  cannon. 
The  General  Assembly  adjourned  on  May  30th,  for, 
the  quarrel  with  the  King  having  been  made  up, 
nothing  of  special  importance  came  before  them  to  pro- 
long the  session.  Moreover,  most  of  the  members, 
being  farmers,  were  eager  to  get  home  for  the  sum- 
mer's work. 

Soon  after  his  return  to  Pomfret,  Putnam  was  again 
the  unfortunate  victim  of  accident.  Indeed,  he  met 
with  two  mishaps  at  this  period.     His  right  hand  had 


*  Public  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  vol.  xii, 


i772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  155 

scarcely  healed,  after  the  "  loss  of  the  first  joint  of  the 
thumb"  when  a  more  serious  hurt  befell  him,  "  the 
compound  fracture  of  his  right  thigh  " ;  "  that  thigh," 
Humphreys  adds,  "  being  rendered  nearly  an  inch 
shorter  than  the  left,  occasioned  him  ever  after  to  limp 
in  his  walk. ' '  When  the  time  drew  near  for  the  October 
meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at  New  Haven,  Put- 
nam, despite  the  difficulties  of  the  journey  thither  for 
one  just  recovering  from  a  badly  injured  leg,  ventured 
to  go  ;  and  there,  as  also  three  months  later  at  Hart- 
ford, we  find  him  representing  Pomfret.  In  1767,  at 
both  the  May  and  October  sessions,  he  was  again  a 
representative.  His  town  associate  this  year  was  Col. 
Ebenezer  Williams  instead  of  Jonathan  Dresser. 

On  June  3,  1767,  a  little  more  than  two  years  after 
the  death  of  his  wife  Hannah,  Putnam  was  again 
united  in  marriage.  This  second  wife  was  Mrs. 
Deborah  Lothrop  Gardiner,  widow  of  John  Gardiner, 
the  fifth  proprietor  of  Gardiner's  Island  (now  a  part  of 
the  township  of  Easthampton,  Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.),  to 
whom  she  had  been  married  nine  years  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1764.  By  her  first  husband,  Rev. 
Ephraim  Avery,  pastor  of  Brooklyn  Parish,  who  died 
in  1754,  she  had  a  sou  Ephraim,  at  this  time  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England.  Her  daughter  and 
son,  Hannah  and  Septimus,  by  her  husband  Gardiner, 
were  now  respectively  nine  and  seven  years  old. 

The    marriage   of    Putnam    to    Madame    Gardiner 

"  gave  new  dignity  to  his  social  position,"  so  writes  Miss  I,arned, 
in  her  interesting  annals  of  Windham  County,  "bringing  him 
into  connection  with  many  prominent  families,  and  with  that 
ecclesiastic  element  so  potent  in  Connecticut  at  this  period. 
Mrs.  Putnam  had  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  much  social 
experience.     Her  husband  was  the  most  popular  man  of  the 


156  Israel  Putnam 


1765- 


day.  Their  hospitable  home  drew  throngs  of  visitants.  Every 
soldier  passing  through  Windham  County  would  go  out 
of  his  way  to  call  on  his  beloved  Colonel.  Relatives,  friends, 
travelling  ministers,  distinguished  strangers,  and  gushing  pa- 
triots came  in  such  numbers  that  their  entertainment  became 
very  burdensome.  A  Virginian  Jefferson  would  submit  to  such 
an  invasion,  though  it  made  him  bankrupt ;  a  Yankee  Putnam 
could  contrive  to  turn  it  into  profit  or  at  least  save  himself  from 
ruin.  Finding  that  his  estate  could  not  support  such  an  ex- 
cessive outlay,  Putnam  met  the  emergency  with  one  of  his 
sudden  strokes,  removed  his  residence  to  the  Avery  estate  on 
Brooklyn  Green  and  opened  his  house  for  general  public 
accommodation."  * 

This  change  in  Putnam's  home  was  made  more 
practicable  by  the  fact  that  his  son  Israel,  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  who  had  recently  married  Sarah  Waldo 
of  Pomfret,  was  glad  to  set  up  housekeeping  at  the  old 
homestead  and  carry  on  the  work  of  the  farm.  Han- 
nah, Putnam's  eldest  daughter,  already  had  a  home  of 
her  own,  for  she  was  the  wife  of  an  enterprising  young 
man  of  the  town,  John  Winchester  Dana,  who,  a  few 
years  later,  removed  to  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  and 
became  an  early  settler  of  Pomfret,  Vermont.  Putnam's 
young  daughters,  Mehitable,  Mary,  and  Eunice,  seem 
to  have  divided  their  time  in  living  in  their  brother 
Israel's  family  and  at  the  home  at  the  "  Green,"  while 
the  other  children,  Daniel  and  little  Peter,  like  their 
step-mother's  son  and  daughter,  were  permanenbmern- 
bers  of  the  household  at  the  latter  place. 

On  a  tree  in  front  of  his  new  home  Putnam  hung  a 
tavern-sign  which  is  in  existence.!    This  "  token  of 


*  Ellen  D.  learned,  History  of  Windham  County,  Connecticut, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  6. 

f  This  tavern-sign  is  now  kept  in  the  rooms  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society  at  Hartford. 


PUTNAM'S  SIGN. 

FROM  ORIGINAL  TAVERN  SIGN  NOW  KEPT  IN 
ROOMS  OF  CONNECTICUT  HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY,  HARTFORD,  CONN. 


i772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  157 

rest  and  good  cheer  for  the  weary  wayfarer"  was 
quaintly  yet  correctly  described  by  William  Cutter, 
many  years  ago  : 

11  It  represents  General  Wolfe  in  full  uniform,  his  eye  fixed  in 
an  expression  of  fiery  earnestness  upon  some  distant  object,  and 
his  right  arm  extended  in  emphatic  gesture,  as  if  charging  on 
the  foe  or  directing  some  other  important  movement  of  his 
army.  The  sign  seems  to  have  fared  hardly  in  one  respect, 
being  plentifully  sprinkled  with  shot-holes." 

It  is  easy  to  picture  to  ourselves  Israel  Putnam  as 
the  host  of  an  old-time  inn.  Large  and  stout  in  figure, 
with  round,  good-natured  face  and  hospitable  manner, 
he  was  the  typical  landlord,  heartily  welcoming  his 
guests  and  entertaining  them  with  tales  of  his  varied 
experiences,  his  numerous  adventures  on  land  and 
water,  and  hairbreadth  escapes  from  fire  and  sword. 
This  tavern,  with  its  distinguished  host  and  equally 
cordial  hostess,  became  one  of  the  best-known  gather- 
ing-places in  Eastern  Connecticut,  and  was  associated 
with  many  an  interesting  incident  in  Revolutionary 
days.  Around  the  large  hearthstone  were  discussed 
the  vital  questions  of  the  colonial  crisis  that  stirred  the 
soul  of  every  ardent  patriot.  Putnam's  tavern  was  a 
centre,  also,  for  news  of  local  interest;  because  here,  as 
at  other  inns  in  the  olden  days,  were  posted  notices  of 
town  meetings,  of  elections,  of  new  laws,  and  notices 
of  administration,  as  well  as  bills  of  sales,  of  auctions, 
and  records  of  transfers.  The  inn  was,  indeed,  an 
"  original  business  exchange,"  and  the  genial  Putnam 
found  much  social  enjoyment  in  the  intercourse  with 
the  neighbours  and  townspeople  who  flocked  to  the 
tavern  for  information  in  regard  to  local  affairs  as  well 
as  the  matters  of  wider  importance.     The  arrival  and 


158  Israel  Putnam  i765- 

departure  of  the  coaches  loaded  with  travellers  held  a 
high  place  among  the  chief  events  in  the  village. 
Many  a  merry  scene  there  was  in  the  winter,  too, 
when  sleighs  dashed  up  to  the  cheerful  tavern  entrance. 
Landlord  and  landlady  were  ready  with  their  greeting, 
and  soon  all  the  new  guests  were  in  full  enjoyment  of 
the  thrifty,  homelike  comforts. 

The  position  of  innkeeper  in  Old  New  England  was 
one  of  eminent  respectability,  and  it  was  as  true  of 
Putnam  at  Pomfret  as  of  the  Enfield  landlord  of  whom 
John  Adams  wrote:  "  he  was  the  great  man  of  the 
town,  their  representative  as  well  as  tavern  keeper." 
William  Gordon,  the  contemporary  of  Putnam,  makes 
this  interesting  mention  of  the  hero  and  his  position  as 
tavern  keeper  : 

"Col.  Putnam  served  with  the  Connecticut  troops  under 
Amherst  in  the  last  war.  By  his  courage  and  conduct  he 
secured  to  himself  a  good  share  of  reputation.  When  peace 
commenced  he  returned  to  the  civil  line  of  life.  Of  late  he  has 
occupied  a  tavern  with  a  farm  annexed  to  it.  Such  a  junction 
is  frequent  in  New  England,  and  the  occupation  not  at  all  in- 
consistent with  a  Roman  character."  * 

It  was  in  1763,  soon  after  Putnam  returned  from  the 
Havana  campaign,  that  the  Pomfret  people  chose  him 
as  one  of  their  selectmen.  Twice  afterwards — in  1765 
and  1771 — he  was  elected  to  this  office  of  local  import- 
ance, which  was  bestowed  only  upon  persons  of  "  wis- 
dom and  uprightness."  The  old  records  show  that  he 
was  made  moderator  of  the  town-meeting  in  1769,  and 
that  he  served  the  next  year,  with  Seth  Paine  and 
Samuel  Williams,  on  the  committee  appointed  to  super- 
intend the  rebuilding  of"  Danielson's  Bridge  "  across 


History  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States. 


1772]  The  Honoured  Citizen  159 

the  Quinebaug  River.  Other  local  affairs  there  were 
with  which  Putnam's  name  is  associated  during  this 
period — such  as  laying  out  new  roads,  re-arranging 
school-districts,  engaging  schoolmasters  and  collecting 
taxes.  When  the  Pomfret  farmers  found  it  necessary 
to  take  concerted  action  to  prevent  further  depredations 
by  their  common  enemy,  the  crows,  they  voted  "  to 
give  bounty  of  sixpence  on  each  crow's  head  and  two 
pence  on  each  young  crow's  head  that  shall  be  killed," 
and  for  several  successive  years  "  Col.  Israel  Putnam 
was  chosen  to  receive  the  crows'  heads." 

In  ecclesiastical  affairs,  too,  Putnam  had  a  part.  He 
was  one  of  the  four  "  messengers  "  or  lay  deputies  who 
met  with  three  ministers  in  council,  on  November  2, 
1770,  at  Canterbury,  and  gave  their  assent  to  the 
organisation  of  the  "Westminster  Society"  in  the 
western  part  of  that  town.  In  the  Brooklyn  Parish  or 
Society  to  which  he  belonged,  Putnam  was  one  of  the 
most  active  advocates  for  a  new  meeting-house  to 
replace  the  old  one,  which,  with  its  shaky  timbers 
patched  roof,  and  boarded  windows,  was  in  a  very 
dilapidated  condition.  The  doughty  Godfrey  Malbone, 
unwilling  to  pay  his  share  of  the  money  needed  for  the 
construction  of  the  new  "schism  shop,"  as  he  called 
it,  attempted  to  defeat  the  parish  plans.  Finding  his 
efforts  unsuccessful,  he  determined  to  establish,  in 
Pomfret,  public  worship  according  to  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  he  was 
a  member.  Thus  he  hoped  not  only  to  obtain  exemp- 
tion from  additional  taxation,  but  also  to  aid  the  loyal- 
ist cause  by  maintaining  the  services  of  the  Established 
Church  of  the  country  to  which  the  colony  was  subject. 
He  found  some  followers  in  this  movement,  and  soon 
set  carpenters  to  work  building  a  church  in  his  part  of 


160  Israel  Putnam  i765- 

the  town,  at  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  Green.* 

Meanwhile  the  Brooklyn  people,  incited  to  renewed 
activity  by  the  opposition  of  Colonel  Malbone,  took 
definite  steps  in  regard  to  their  own  edifice.  The  loca- 
tion chosen  for  it  was  a  few  rods  south-east  of  the  old 
meeting-house,  and  nearly  opposite  Putnam's  tavern. 
The  building,  when  finished,  was  described  as  "  a  very 
genteel  meeting-house."  It  was  of  the  old  New-Eng- 
land type,  large  and  plain.  The  exterior  was  painted 
white,  and  the  spire  was  a  landmark  to  the  country 
around.  In  the  recorded  details  of  this  important  local 
enterprise  Putnam's  name  occupies  a  conspicuous 
place  for  faithfulness  in  the  general  oversight  of  the 
work.  With  money  received  by  bequest  from  Joseph 
Scarborough,  a  bell  —  a  source  of  great  pride  to  the 
community — was  purchased  and  hung  in  the  steeple 
just  before  the  new  meeting-house  was  used  for  the  first 
time.  In  such  high  repute  was  a  bell-ringer  and  sexton 
in  those  days,  that  only  the  most  honoured  citizen  was 
deemed  worthy  of  serving  in  that  position.  It  was  for 
this  reason  that  the  parish  took  the  following  action  on 
September  28,  1772  : 

"  Votea  that  Col.  Putnam  take  care  of  the  new  meeting-house 
and  ring  the  bell  at  the  price  of  three  pounds  the  year  ensuing.'* 

It  was  decided  at  that  time  that  the  bell  should  be 


*  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  in  after  years,  when  local  re- 
ligious prejudices  had  in  large  measure  passed  away,  Putnam's 
sons,  Israel  and  Daniel,  became  devoted  Churchmen  and  earn- 
est supporters  of  the  services  which  Colonel  Malbone  had 
been  instrumental  in  starting.  The  old  Trinity  Church  is  still 
standing  in  Brooklyn,  Conn.  So  is  also  the  meeting-house 
which  Putnam  helped  to  build. 


772] 


The  Honoured  Citizen  161 


rung  on  "  Sabbaths,  Fasts,  Thanksgivings  and  at 
Lectures  as  is  customary  at  other  places  where  they 
have  bells,  also  to  ring  it  at  12  o'clock  at  noon  and  9 
at  night." 

The  following  winter,  while  Putnam  was  away  from 
home  on  the  Southern  trip  which  is  described  in  the 
next  chapter,  Pastor  Whitney  took  his  place  as  bell- 
ringer,  for  the  minister  was  considered  the  only  fit 
person  to  perform  the  duties  of  this  responsible  and 
honoured  position  during  the  absence  of  the  Colonel 
himself. 


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CHAPTER    XIII 


A  MILITARY   ADVKNTURKR 


1772-1773 


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OR  nearly  ten  years  General  Phineas 
Lyman  had  been  in  England,  attempt- 
ing to  obtain  a  grant  of  land  from  the 
British  Government  for  the  provincial 
soldiers  who  had  survived  the  French 
and  Indian  War.  Numerous  obstacles, 
including  a  change  of  ministry,  had  disappointed  him 
again  and  again  in  his  efforts  until  he  became  broken 
in  mind  as  well  as  in  spirit.  In  1772,  however,  so  con- 
fident was  Lyman  of  having  secured  at  last  the  long- 
desired  object,  that  he  returned  to  America  ;  and  in 
November  of  that  year  the  "  Company  of  Military  Ad- 
venturers," an  association  "  composed,"  as  the  old 
records  say,  "  chiefly  of  such  as  had  been  officers  and 
soldiers  during  the  preceding  war,"  met  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  to  hear  his  report.  He  stated  that  "  an 
order  had  passed  the  King  in  Council  authorising  the 
Governor  of  West  Florida  to  grant  lands  in  that  pro- 
vince to  the  provincials  in  the  same  proportions  as  had 
been  provided  for  His  Majesty's  regular  troops." 

"  Lyman  brought  no  document  on  the  subject,"  writes  Rufus 
Putnam,  who  was  present  at  the  Hartford  gathering,  "but  his 

162 


1772-73]       A  Military  Adventurer  163 

report  was  so  far  relied  on,  that  the  meeting  voted  to  explore 
the  lands,  and  for  that  purpose  appointed  a  Committee." 

"Col.  [Israel]  Putnam,  Capt.  [Roger]  Enos,  Mr.  Thaddeus 
Lyman  and  myself,"  he  adds,  "were  the  Exploring  Committee." 

The  members  of  the  Exploring  Committee  were  to 
sail  from  New  York  on  board  the  sloop  Mississippi, 
which  was  provided  by  the  association  of  Military  Ad- 
venturers. Before  leaving  home  for  that  city,  Israel 
was  joined  by  his  kinsman  and  former  comrade-in- 
arms, who,  like  himself,  had  been  chosen  to  go  South. 
Rufus  Putnam  was  living  on  a  farm  at  Brookfield, 
Massachusetts,  which  he  had  purchased  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  For  several 
years  past  he  had  devoted  his  spare  time  to  the  study 
of  surveying,  in  which  he  had  become  very  proficient, 
and  it  was  because  of  the  special  service  which  he  could 
render  in  making  a  plan  of  the  lands  when  they  were 
being  reconnoitred,  that  he  had  been  appointed  on  the 
Committee. 

On  the  arrival  of  Rufus,  the  ^Colonel,  with  his  son 
Daniel,  now  a  lad  of  thirteen  years,  whom  he  was  to 
take  with  him  South,  was  ready  to  set  out  at  once  from 
Pomfret.  The  journey  was  made  on  horseback  to 
Norwich,  and  from  there  in  a  sloop  across  Iyong  Island 
Sound  and  down  the  East  River.  On  the  day  that  he 
reached  New  York,  Israel  Putnam  began  a  diary  * — a 
veritable  literary  puzzle,  in  its  naive  disregard  of  all 
rules  of  punctuation  and  spelling.  He  tells  of  the  dan- 
gerous approach  to  New  York  and  how  the  time  was 
spent  after  reaching  there  : 


*  This  diary  was  written  by  Putnam  on  the  blank  pages  of 
the  Orderly  Book  of  the  Havana  Campaign,  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Charles  Otis  Thompson  of  Pomfret,  Conn. 


164  Israel  Putnam  [i772- 

"  Sunday  ye  20  [of  December,  1772]— pas[s]ed  heal  gait  [Hell 
Gate]  and  had  all  like  to  have  ben  lost  by  reason  of  a  bad  pilot 
but  got  through  Wei — arived  at  New  york  about  12  aclock — in 
ye  aftornone  Went  to  hear  Doctor  rogos  [Rev.  Dr.  John  Rod- 
gers,  pastor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church]  preach 

"Monday  ye  21 — Cap!  I^aidley  and  Cap!  Godrich  Sat  about 
rigeng  and  Loding  ye  vesel. 

"tusday  ye  22— it  proved  varey  raney  so  that  thare  was  but 
leatel  to  be  don 

"  Wednesday  ye  23 — good  weathor  all  hands  at  worke  prepar- 
ing the  vesel 

"  thorsday  24 — varey  raney  and  Durtey  weathor  but  leatel 
Don." 

The  New  Englander  was  unaccustomed  to  the  holi- 
day observances  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  of  Dutch 
customs  and  traditions  : 

"friday  ye  25  [of  December] — crismos  day — Nothing  to  be 
Don  hear — not  so  much  as  is  ginoreley  one  [on]  Sunday  in  this 
part  of  ye  World. 

"Satorday  ye  26 — hollow  Days  [holidays]  heare." 

The  departure  from  New  York  was  not  until  two 
weeks  later.  During  the  intervening  time  the  Colonel 
made  brief  entries  in  his  diary  as  follows  : 

"Sunday  ye  27  [of  December] — this  Day  weant  to  ye  oald 
englesh  Church  [Trinity  Church]  to  hear  M^  Ahmodey  [the 
Rev.  Samuel  Auchmuty,  the  rector] — Dined  with  Mr.  William 
Halet 

"monday  28— had  a  good  Day  to  work  in — all  hands  busy  at 
work 

"tusday  29 — purchesed  4  swinds  [swine]  and  hired  4  low 
horns  [cattle]  for  ye  voige  [voyage] 

"Wednesday  ye  30 — varey  weat  and  raney  but  leatel  to  be 
don 

"thursday  ye  31— the  men  employed  it  taken  in  goods  for 
ye  voige 


1773]  A  Military  Adventurer  165 

"friday  ye  forst  of  Jeuauary  1773 — tliis  Day  no  work  don — 
went  to  Church — Dined  at  Mr  Petor  Vandevort  marchant 

"Satorday  ye  2 — this  day  taking  in  goods  for  ye  voige — good 
weathor 

"Sunday  ye  3 — this  day  weant  to  hear  Mr  Leavenston  [Rev. 
Dr.  John  Henry  Livingston,  pastor  of  the  North  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church]  in  ye  morning  and  M^  Leadley  [Rev.  Dr. 
Archibald  Daidie  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Reformed  Church]  in 
ye  evening — two  varey  Good  sarmons 

"  Monday  ye  4 — this  day  was  varey  pleasant — the  men  all  im- 
ployed  in  loding  and  painting  the  vesal 

"tusday  ye  5  this  Day  Lo wring  weat  weathor  but  letel  Don 

"  Wednesday  ye  6— good  weathor — all  hands  at  work  taking 
in  stores 

"thorsday  ye  7— this  was  a  varey  good  Day  and  had  almost 
all  completed 

"friday  ye  8  1773 — this  day  compleated  the  whole  of  the 
cargo 

"Satorday  ye  9  of  Jenauary — had  all  things  one  bord  and 
ready  for  saling  But  the  wind  was  so  much  to  ye  south  it  would 
not  Do." 

At  last,  on  Sunday,  January  10,  1773,  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Committee  of  Military 
Adventurers  on  board  the  sloop  Mississippi  were  out- 
ward bound.  During  the  next  two  weeks  Israel  Put- 
nam made  a  brief  record  each  day  of  the  wind  and, 
when  an  observation  was  possible,  of  the  latitude. 
Unfavourable  weather  delayed  at  times  the  passage,  but 
fortunately  no  heavy  storms  were  encountered.  On 
Monday,  January  25th,  the  sloop  crossed  the  Tropic  of 
Cancer,  and  a  few  days  later  was  near  Turk's  Island 
among  the  Bahama  Islands,  sailing  for  a  short  time  in 
company  with  a  schooner  which  was  wrecked  soon 
afterwards  on  a  reef  of  rocks  in  that  vicinity.  On 
Saturday,  January  30th,  the  Mississippi  entered  the 
fine  harbour  of  St.  Nicholas'  Mole  on  the  north-west 


1 66  Israel  Putnam  [i772- 

extremity  of  the  island  of  Haiti.  The  sloop  remained 
here  four  days,  and  during  that  time  the  passengers 
went  on  shore  several  times.  The  place  was  an  import- 
ant trading  station,  there  being  at  that  time  about 
eighty  vessels  in  the  harbour,  which  number,  Israel 
Putnam  was  told  by  some  of  the  inhabitants,  "  was  not 
above  half  so  many  as  is  usually  here." 

In  proceeding  southward,  on  February  4th,  the  voy- 
agers saw  on  their  left  the  rocky  coast  of  Haiti,  which 
rose  in  level  plains  or  ledges.  On  the  right,  the  view 
of  Cuba,  which  Israel  Putnam  mentions  in  his  diary, 
must  have  vividly  reminded  both  Captain  Roger  Enos 
and  himself  of  the  perilous  experiences  ten  years  be- 
fore, when  they  were  wrecked  off  that  island  in  the 
dreadful  Havana  campaign.  On  Sunday,  February 
7th,  the  sloop  neared  the  north  coast  of  Jamaica,  and, 
passing  by  the  ports  of  Saint  Ann  and  Martha  Brae, 
reached  Montego  Bay  the  next  morning  about  eleven 
o'clock.  After  dinner  the  passengers  went  on  shore. 
Their  visit  to  one  of  the  Jamaica  plantations  in  the 
vicinity  was  disturbed  by  a  savage  dog.  In  the  canine 
encounter  Israel  unceremoniously  fell  into  a  rum  vat. 
He  tells  the  incident  in  his  characteristic  style: 

"  waited  on  ye  mannegor  of  the  plantation  who  tre[a]ted  ous 
very  hamseley  [handsomely] — walked  with  ous — Shewed  ous  all 
ye  Works  and  the  mills  to  grind  ye  Cain  and  as  we  went  in 
thare  was  a  dog  atacked  ye  manegor  and  in  ye  figh[t]  I  tum- 
belled  into  won  of  the  vats  that  was  full  of  Liquer  to  make  rum 
of— shifted  all  my  Cloths  and  went  on  horde" 

The  next  day  Israel  made  this  entry  : 

"tusday  ye  9  of  febuary  1773 — "this  morning  went  one 
Shore  we  that  had  had  the  small  pox  and  non  eals  [no  one  else] 
for  we  found  it  was  vary  thick  all  over  ye  town — went  back  to 


1773]  A  Military  Adventurer  167 

the  plantation— got  my  cloths— Bough[t]  som  fruit  but  it  was 
vary  hard  to  be  got  by  reson  it  was  not  Sunday — about  2  a  Clock 
we  went  one  borde — Dinned — Waied  ancor  and  took  our  Leave 
of montego  bay" 

From  Jamaica  the  course  was  north-west  towards 
Cape  San  Antonio,  Cuba.  The  weather  became  oppres- 
sively hot  and  a  calm  retarded  the  progress  of  the  vessel. 
On  reaching  Cape  San  Antonio  after  a  week  of  slow 
sailing,  a  bargain  for  tortoises  with  some  Spaniards,  who 
came  out  in  a  canoe,  was  interrupted  by  the  approach 
of  a  schooner  which  Captain  Goodrich  feared  was  a 
guard-coaster.  The  crew  of  the  strange  vessel  secured 
the  tortoises  which  the  Military  Adventurers  them- 
selves had  expected  to  purchase.  The  sloop  Missis- 
sippi was  now  headed  directly  for  Pensacola,  Florida, 
but  contrary  winds  and  stormy  weather  were  soon 
encountered.  It  required  ten  days  to  reach  that  de- 
stination. Among  the  officers  stationed  at  Pensacola, 
which  was  then  the  centre  of  English  interests  on  the 
Gulf  shore,  were  two  old  associates  of  Israel  Putnam 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War, — General  Frederick 
Haldimand  and  Major  John  Small.  The  latter  was  the 
intimate  friend  whose  life  he  afterwards  saved  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  new  arrivals  were  hos- 
pitably received.  To  their  surprise  and  disappoint- 
ment, however,  the  Military  Adventurers  found  that 
no  royal  instructions  had  been  received. 

"Governor  Chester  and  his  Council,"  writes  Rufus  Putnam, 
"treated  us  in  the  most  obliging  manner;  but,  alas,  no  order 
for  granting  Lands  to  the  provincials  had  arrived  ;  this  was  a 
mortifying  circumstance  ;  however  the  possibility  of  its  yet 
arriving,  with  the  proposal  made  for  granting  Lands  to  the 
company  on  terms  within  the  power  of  the  Governor  and 
Council  induced  the  Committee  to  resolve  on  proceeding  on 


1 68  Israel  Putnam  [i772- 

the  business  of  reconnoitring  the  country  on  the  Mississippi 
and  to  make  such  Surveys  as  we  might  think  proper." 

Two  weeks  after  their  arrival  at  Pensacola,  the  Mili- 
tary Adventurers  set  sail  in  their  sloop  to  explore  the 
Mississippi  River  as  far  north  as  the  Yazoo,  trusting 
that  during  their  absence  the  orders  from  the  King  for 
the  land  grants  would  be  received  by  Governor  Ches- 
ter. After  going  a  short  distance  they  were  obliged  to 
drop  anchor  on  account  of  the  contrary  wind.  Israel 
Putnam  improved  the  opportunity  for  his  favourite  pas- 
time by  going  ashore  to  hunt.  He  notes  how  he  took 
a  walk  into  the  woods,  got  a  shot  at  a  fine  buck, 
wounded  him  but  could  not  catch  him,  and  came  back 
tired  and  hungry.  The  wind  shifted  on  March  18th  ; 
then  the  sloop  got  well  under  way  and  was  soon  out  of 
sight  of  land.  Four  days  later  the  Military  Adventur- 
ers, after  considerable  difficulty,  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  On  the  way  up  the  river  Israel,  with 
a  companion,  made  several  reconnoissances  in  a  whale- 
boat.  On  one  of  these  trips  he  shot  three  alligators. 
His  diary  abruptly  ends  with  a  record  of  his  visit  on 
Sunday,  March  28th,  to  a  hospitable  French  settler 
whose  plantation  bordered  the  river.  Information  in 
regard  to  the  remainder  of  the  expedition  is  found  in 
the  writings  of  Rufus  Putnam.  From  him  we  learn 
that  New  Orleans  was  reached  on  March  30th.  More 
than  a  week  was  spent  at  this  chief  port  on  the  river. 
Then  Captain  Goodrich,  for  reasons  which  were  prob- 
ably connected  with  Spanish  restrictions  on  navigation 
northward,  "  refused  to  proceed  any  further  with  the 
sloop."  The  Military  Adventurers,  therefore,  embarked 
in  a  bateau  April  8th.  They  made  such  good  pro- 
gress that  three  days  later  they  reached  an  Acadian 
settlement,   seventy-one    miles    above  New  Orleans. 


1773]  A  Military  Adventurer  169 

Among  these  people,  who,  the  chronicler  notes,  "  were 
removed  by  the  English  from  Nova  Scotia,"  the  mem- 
bers of  the  exploring  party  tarried  a  whole  day  and 
were  treated  with  hospitality,  listening  with  interest 
to  the  stories  of  innumerable  hardships  and  sad  experi- 
ences which  the  exiles  told.  In  advancing  farther  up 
the  Mississippi,  several  Indian  villages  and  French 
settlements  were  passed.  On  April  26th  the  historic 
spot,  Fort  Rosalie  at  Natchez,  was  reached. 

The  Military  Adventurers  had  now  advanced  nearly 
four  hundred  miles  up  the  current  of  the  mighty  river, 
and  it  was  with  great  interest  that  they  neared  the 
region  where  they  intended  to  make  a  special  recon- 
noissance.  Having  left  Natchez  Wednesday  after- 
noon, April  28th,  they  advanced  by  boat  nearly  fifty 
miles  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bayou  Pierre.  They  went 
up  this  tributary  seventeen  miles  to  the  Forks,  and 
there  they  marked  a  tree  ' '  for  commencing  our  loca- 
tion." Then  they  returned  down  the  Bayou  Pierre 
and  proceeded  up  the  Mississippi,  the  same  day,  nine 
miles,  to  the  Great  Gulf,  where  Thomas  James,  an  In- 
dian trader,  had  settled.  Three  miles  above  was  the 
Big  Black  River;  and  on  Thursday,  after  the  explorers 
had  rowed  past  that  stream,  two  of  their  number,  Israel 
Putnam  and  Thaddeus  Lyman,  set  off  by  land,  with  a 
Choctaw  Indian  as  guide,  for  the  Walnut  Hills,  be- 
tween fifty  and  sixty  miles  distant,  which  formed  a 
portion  of  the  great  bluff  bounding  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  on  the  East.  The  rest  of  the  party  made 
their  way  to  the  same  hills  by  water,  and  on  their 
arrival  there,  Saturday  evening,  the  8th,  met  "  the 
gentlemen  who  came  by  Eand "  from  whom  they 
learned  that  the  route  was  through  a  flat  country  and 
cypress  swamps,  that  the  cane  brakes  were  so  thick  it 


170  Israel  Putnam  [1772- 

was  not  possible  to  examine  the  land  from  the  path. 
After  reaching  the  high  grounds  of  the  Yazoo,  Israel 
Putnam  and  his  companion,  who  had  made  their  way 
thither  across  the  country  while  the  other  men  went 
around  by  boat,  wished  to  make  a  further  reconnois- 
sance  overland,  but  the  threatening  attitude  of  their 
Choctaw  guide  prevented  them  from  carrying  out  all 
their  plans.  The  Indian  was  unable  to  state  his 
reasons  in  words,  for  he  was  as  ignorant  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  as  the  men  whom  he  had  been  guiding 
were  of  the  Choctaw  speech.  His  gesticulations  and 
other  efforts  to  make  his  meaning  known  proved  unin- 
telligible. Later,  through  Trader  James  as  interpreter, 
he  explained  that  he  had  met  two  chiefs  on  the  Yazoo 
River  who  forbade  his  conducting  any  of  the  party  over 
the  proposed  route  to  the  Big  Black  River. 

Under  date  of  Thursday,  May  13th,  Rufus  Putnam 
records  : 

"Colo.  Putnam  &  Mr.  Lyman  &  myself  Set  out  by  Land, 
more  perticulerly  to  examin  the  high  Lands,  Stretching  from 
the  old  French  Station  [on  the  Yazoo  River],  to  the  Walnut 
hills  ;  we  Steared  our  course  as  neer  the  hills  as  possible  on 
account  of  the  Cane  brakes.  Saw  Several  Small  Streams 
issuing  from  the  high  Lands,  &  land  very  rich  ;  in  the  after- 
noon we  pursued  one  of  these  Streams  to  Some  distence,  when 
we  were  taken  up  by  a  mighty  Cane  Brake,  here  Colo.  Putnam 
climbed  a  tree  &  discovered  high  Land  at  about  100  rods  distent 
which  we  were  two  hours  in  gaining,  on  account  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  giting  through  the  Cane  .  .  .  we  returned  part  of 
the  way  down  the  hill  &  Camped  by  a  very  fine  Spring." 

After  their  return  to  Trader  James's  plantation,  the 
same  three  Military  Adventurers  started  on  another 
trip  : 

"  Monday  May  17th.     Colo.  Putnam,  Mr.  Lyman  &  myself," 


1773]  A  Military  Adventurer  171 

says  Rufus  Putnam,  "  Set  out  to  explore  the  Lands  on  the  Big 
Black  .  .  .  Thursday  May  20,  we  returned  down  the  river  to 
Mr.  James'  where  we  found  the  Second  Chief  of  Chactau  Nation 
waiting  for  us." 

This  Indian  chief  was  "  Mingo-oma,  whose  name  is 
also  Snake-head."  He  showed  the  explorers  a  com- 
mission which  he  had  once  received  from  Governor 
Chester,  granting  certain  rights  in  this  region  to  the 
Choctaws.  The  chief  now  declared,  through  Inter- 
preter James,  that  his  nation  would  permit  "  no  white 
people  "  to  settle  above  the  Big  Black  River. 

On  account  of  the  savage  hostility  to  their  recon- 
noitring northward,  the  party  proceeded  down  the 
Mississippi,  and  on  Wednesday,  June  2nd,  arrived  at 
Manchac,  having  on  their  way  thither  spent  "  con- 
siderable time  in  exploring  the  Lands  near  the  river 
on  the  English  or  West  Florida  Side."  A  few  miles 
below  Manchac  they  found  their  sloop,  which  had  ad- 
vanced nearly  one  hundred  miles  above  New  Orleans 
to  meet  them.  Owing  to  various  delays,  a  whole 
month  was  spent  in  sailing  back  to  Pensacola.  Here 
the  Military  Adventurers  were  disappointed  again  in 
regard  to  the  land-grants.  No  letters  had  arrived  from 
England  authorising  the  appropriations.  The  Explor- 
ing Committee  succeeded,  however,  in  obtaining  from 
Governor  Chester  and  his  Council  certain  rights  for 
provincial  veterans  to  settle  on  the  lands  which  they 
had  reconnoitred.  Then  they  made  preparations  to 
return  to  the  North,  and  on  Thursday,  July  15th,  the 
sloop  Mississippi  was  homeward  bound.  After  a  dis- 
agreeable voyage  of  three  weeks,  the  passengers 
reached  New  York  in  safety  on  Friday,  August  6th. 
11  Col.  Putnam,  his  son  Daniel  and  myself,"  writes 
Rufus  Putnam  the  next  day,  "  took  passage  in  a  sloop 


172  Israel  Putnam  [1772-73 

for  Norwich,  but  on  our  way  sprung  the  mast,  and  with 
some  difficulty  arrived  at  New  London  on  Tuesday, 
the  10th."     He  adds: 

"  Wednesday  August  nth — quit  the  sloop  &  took  passag  in 
a  Row  boate  for  Norwich 

"Thursday  August  12th— came  on  Horseback  to  Colo.  Put- 
nams  &  Friday  13th  arrived  at  my  own  house  in  Brookfield." 

Although  Israel  Putnam  did  not  again  visit  the 
Mississippi,  he  was  one  of  the  provincial  officers  who 
made  preliminary  arrangements  for  cultivating  a  tract 
of  land  on  that  river,  but  all  such  plans  were  put  to  an 
end  by  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Revolution  with 
its  momentous  issues. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AN  ARDKNT  PATRIOT 
1773-1774 

VER  since  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
George  III.  of  England  had  been  eager 
to  re-assert  his  authority  in  America. 
The  opportunity  came  when  his  friend, 
Charles  Townshend,  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  secured  the  passage  by 
Parliament,  in  1767,  of  revenue  bills  which  upheld  the 
royal  policy  of  taxation  without  representation.  Lord 
North,  who  succeeded  Townshend  and,  in  1770,  be- 
came Prime  Minister  of  England,  attempted  to  enforce 
the  tyrannical  laws,  but  the  resistance  of  the  colonies 
led  him  to  remove  all  duties  except  on  tea.  The  spirit 
of  opposition  having  been  weakened  in  several  colonies 
by  the  partial  concession,  the  British  Government  as- 
sisted the  East  India  Company  in  shipping  a  quantity 
of  tea  to  America,  but  the  Massachusetts  people,  who 
were  among  the  strongest  denouncers  of  the  arbitrary 
course  of  the  King,  adopted  a  most  effectual  method  of 
preventing  the  landing  of  the  cargoes  which  were  in- 
tended for  Boston.  A  party  of  citizens,  disguised  as 
Indians,  boarded  the  vessels  which  had  arrived  in  the 


173 


174  Israel  Putnam  [1773- 

harbour,  ripped  open  the  tea-chests  and  poured  the 
contents  into  the  water. 

This  incident  of  the  "  Boston  Tea  Party  "  occurred 
just  four  months  after  Putnam  returned  in  the  summer 
of  1773  from  his  Southern  voyage.  Ardent  patriot  that 
he  was,  he  thoroughly  sympathised  with  the  Massa- 
chusetts leaders  in  their  bold  defiance  of  the  King. 
Their  course  seemed  to  him  justified  by  the  repeated 
encroachments  on  colonial  rights.  This  fellow-feeling 
was  further  aroused  when,  in  the  spring  of  1774,  came 
the  news  that  Parliament  had  passed  certain  retaliatory 
acts  to  punish  the  Boston  men  for  contempt  of  the 
royal  authority.  The  object  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill 
was  to  starve  and  frighten  the  rebellious  citizens  into 
submission  by  closing  their  port  and  stopping  trade  ; 
the  Regulating  Act  disannulled  the  charter  of  Massa- 
chusetts, destroyed  her  free  government,  and  provided 
for  a  military  governor  who  should  have  despotic 
power. 

Several  years  previous,  Parliament,  regarding  Bos- 
ton as  a  disorderly  town,  had  sent  troops  there,  but 
after  the  Boston  Massacre  —  the  tragic  collision  of 
March  5,  1770,  caused  by  the  unwillingness  of  the 
citizens  to  be  treated  as  a  conquered  people — the 
soldiers  had  been  withdrawn  to  Castle  William.  Now 
that  retaliatory  acts  had  been  enacted,  an  armed  force 
was  again  quartered  in  the  city.  This  harsh  measure, 
together  with  the  revengeful  spirit  shown  by  the  Brit- 
ish Government  in  the  passage  of  the  Port  Bill,  pro- 
voked greater  indignation  than  ever  throughout  the 
colonies. 

As  soon  as  the  law  which  stopped  the  trade  of  Bos- 
ton went  into  effect  on  June  1,  1774,  public  meetings 
were  held  in  Connecticut,  as  elsewhere,  to  consider  the 


i774]  An  Ardent  Patriot  175 

matter  of  tendering  relief  to  those  who  were  "  suffering 
in  a  common  cause."  So  hearty  was  the  response  to 
the  suggestion  in  regard  to  voluntary  contributions 
that  there  soon  began  to  flow,  from  every  direction 
towards  Boston,  gifts  of  food  and  other  needed  articles 
as  well  as  money.  Committees  of  Correspondence  were 
appointed  in  different  towns  to  circulate  all  important 
news  and  to  decide  upon  some  concerted  course  of  action 
in  case  of  emergencies.  Brooklyn  Parish  made  Israel 
Putnam  the  chairman  of  its  committee,  which  was  com- 
posed, besides  himself,  of  Joseph  Holland  and  Daniel 
Tyler,  Jr.  These  three  men  prepared  a  letter  for  the 
Boston  patriots  which  was  full  of  glowing  sentiment 
and  practical  sympathy.     Here  it  is  : 

"Brooklyn  in  Pomfret, 
"August  nth,  1774. 

"  Gentlemen, 

"With  our  hearts  deeply  impressed  with  the  feelings  of 
humanity  towards  our  near  and  dear  brethren  of  Boston,  who 
are  now  suffering  under  a  ministerial,  revengeful  hand,  and  at 
the  same  time  full  of  gratitude  to  the  patriotic  inhabitants,  for 
the  noble  stand  which  they  have  made  against  all  oppressive 
innovations,  and  with  unfeigned  love  for  all  British  America, 
who  must,  if  Boston  is  subjugated,  alternately  fall  a  prey  to 
ministerial  ambition,  we  send  you  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
sheep,  as  a  present  from  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  hoping 
thereby  you  may  be  enabled  to  stand  more  firm  (if  possible)  in 
the  glorious  cause  in  which  you  are  embarked,  notwithstanding 
the  repeated,  unheard  of  daring  attacks,  which  the  British  Par- 
liament are  making  upon  the  rights  which  you  ought  to  enjoy 
as  English-born  subjects  ;  and  if  so,  we  shall  of  consequence 
contribute  our  mite  towards  the  salvation  of  British  America, 
which  is  all  our  ambition. 

"In  zeal  in  our  country's  cause,  we  are  exceeded  by  none; 
but  our  abilities  and  opportunities  do  not  admit  of  our  being  of 


176  Israel  Putnam  [i773- 

that  weight  in  the  American  scale  as  we  would  to  God  we 
were. 

11  We  mean  in  the  first  place,  to  attempt  to  appease  the  fire 
(raised  by  your  committing  the  India  Tea  to  the  watery  element 
as  a  merited  oblation  to  Neptune)  of  an  ambitious  and  vindictive 
minister,  by  the  blood  of  rams  and  of  lambs  ;  if  that  do  not  an- 
swer the  end,  we  are  ready  to  march  in  the  van,  and  to  sprinkle 
the  American  altars  with  our  heart's  blood,  if  occasion  should 
be. 

"The  latent  seeds  of  destruction  which  are  implanted  in  the 
constitution  of  almost  every  state  or  empire,  have  grown  in 
England,  in  these  last  nine  years,  with  amazing  rapidity,  and 
now  are  mature  for  harvest ;  and  ere  long  we  shall  see  reapers 
flocking  from  all  parts  of  Europe,  who  will  sweep  their  fields 
with  the  besom  of  destruction.  This  thought  occasions  a  cloud 
of  melancholy  to  arise  in  the  breast  of  every  descendant  from 
Britain,  which  is  only  dissipated  by  the  pleasing  prospect  every 
American  has  before  him  !  Here  we  have  an  unbounded,  fertile 
country,  worth  contending  for  with  blood !  Here  bribery  and 
corruption,  which  are  certain  forebodings  of  a  speedy  dissolu- 
tion, are  as  yet  only  known  by  names.  To  us,  ere  long,  Britain's 
glory  will  be  transferred,  where  it  will  shine  with  accumulated 
brilliancy. 

"We  cannot  but  rejoice  with  you,  on  account  of  the  union 
and  firmness  of  the  Continent.  The  public  virtue  now  exibited 
by  the  Americans,  exceeds  all  of  its  kind  that  can  be  produced 
in  the  annals  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Behold  them  from 
North  and  South,  from  East  to  West,  striving  to  comfort  the 
town  of  Boston,  both  by  publishing  their  sentiments  in  regard 
to  the  present  tyrannical  administration,  and  by  supporting 
their  poor  with  provision,  who,  otherwise,  in  this  present  stag- 
nation of  business,  would  have  reduced  the  opulent  to  a  state 
of  penury  and  despair  in  a  short  time. 

"You  are  held  up  as  a  spectacle  to  the  whole  world.  All 
Christendom  are  longing  to  see  the  event  of  the  American  con- 
test. And  do,  most  notable  citizens,  play  your  part  manfully, 
of  which,  we  make  no  doubt,  your  names  are  either  to  be  held 
in  eternal  veneration,  or  execration.  If  you  stand  out,  your 
names  cannot  be  too  much  applauded  by  all  Europe,  and  all 


774] 


An  Ardent  Patriot  i77 


future  generations,  which  is  the  hearty  desire  and  wish  of  us,  who 
are,  with  utmost  respect,  your  obedient  and  humble  servants. 
"  Israee  Putnam,      ^  Committee  of  Corre- 
"  Joseph  Hoixand,     V    spondence  for  the 
11  Daniei,  Tyi<er,  Jr.  J  Parish  of  Brooklyn. 
"To  Samuel  Adams,  Esq.,  Chairman  to  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence,  Boston."* 

It  was  decided  that  Putnam  himself  should  be  the 
bearer  of  this  letter,  and  he  accordingly  set  out  at  once 
on  horseback  for  Boston,  nearly  a  hundred  miles  dis- 
tant, driving  before  him  the  flock  of  sheep,  Brooklyn's 
gift  to  the  distressed  town.  On  reaching  Boston,  Put- 
nam became  the  honoured  guest  of  the  young  physician 
who  had  already  taken  a  leading  part  in  championing 
the  colonial  cause. 

In  the  postscript  to  a  letter  addressed  to  his  bosom 
friend,  Samuel  Adams,  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  wrote  : 

"  The  celebrated  Colonel  Putnam  is  now  in  my  house,  having 
arrived,  since  I  subscribed  this  letter  [dated  Boston,  August  15, 
1774],  with  a  generous  donation  of  sheep."  f 

Putnam  remained  in  Boston  several  days  as  Warren's 
guest.  The  newspapers,  in  announcing  his  presence 
in  town,  spoke  of  him  as  one  of  the  "  greatest  military 
characters  of  the  age,"  a  person  whose  "  bravery  and 
character  need  no  description,"  for 

"he  is  so  well  known  throughout  North  America  that  no  words 
are  necessary  to  inform  the  public  any  further  concerning  him 
than  that  his  generosity  led  him  to  Boston  to  cherish  his  op- 
pressed brethren  and  support  them  by  every  means  in  his 
power.  A  fine  drove  of  sheep  was  one  article  of  comfort  he 
was  commissioned  to  present  us  with."  % 

*  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Fourth 
Series,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  50-52. 

f  Life  and  Times  offoseph  Warren,  by  Richard  Frothingham. 
X  Boston  Gazette,  1774. 


178  Israel  Putnam  [1773- 

One  of  the  most  aggressive  patriots,  Dr.  Thomas 
Young,  who,  like  Warren,  was  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Committee  of  Correspondence,  was  especially  cordial  in 
greeting  Putnam  and  found  keen  delight  in  the  un- 
flinching stand  which  the  Connecticut  leader  took 
in  defending  the  colonial  rights  in  arguments  with 
some  of  the  British  officers. 

"The  old  hero,  Putnam,"  writes  Dr.  Young  in  a  letter, 
August  19th,  "  arrived  in  town  on  Monday,  bringing  with  him 
one  hundred  and  thirty  sheep  from  the  little  parish  of  Brooklyn. 
He  cannot  get  away,  he  is  so  much  caressed  both  by  officers 
and  citizens.  He  has  had  a  long  combat  with  Major  Small,  in 
the  political  way,  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter.  He 
looks  fresh  and  hearty,  and,  on  an  emergency,  would  be  as 
likely  to  do  good  business  as  ever." 

A  fragment  of  the  conversation  to  which  Dr.  Young 
refers  gives  us  a  good  idea  of  the  patriotic  attitude 
maintained  by  Putnam  in  the  ''combat"  with  his 
friend  and  former  comrade-in-arms  : 

"  Twenty  ships-of-the-line  and  twenty  regiments," 
said  Major  Small,  "  may  be  expected  from  England  in 
case  a  submission  is  not  speedily  made  by  Boston." 

11  If  they  come,"  was  the  bold  reply,  "  I  am  ready  to 
treat  them  as  enemies." 

At  the  British  headquarters  on  Boston  Common 
Putnam  met  Lord  Percy  and  Colonel  Sheriff.  Here  he 
found,  too,  several  officers  with  whom  he  had  served  in 
the  French  and  Indian  War,  besides  General  Thomas 
Gage  himself,  who  had  been  appointed  military  gov- 
ernor of  Boston.  These  old  friends,  after  warmly  wel- 
coming Putnam,  bantered  him  about  coming  down  to 
the  fight.  Humphreys  gives  an  interesting  account  of 
these  "  amicable  interviews."  This  was  the  "  tenor  " 
of  them,  he  says,  as  "  our  hero  hath  often  told  me  " : 


1774]  An  Ardent  Patriot  179 

"  Being  often  questioned,  '  in  case  the  dispute  should  proceed 
to  hostilities,  what  part  he  would  really  take?'  he  [Putnam] 
always  answered,  '  with  his  country  ;  and  that,  let  whatever 
might  happen,  he  was  prepared  to  abide  the  consequence.' 
Being  interrogated,  'whether  he,  who  had  been  a  witness  to 
the  prowess  and  victories  of  the  British  fleets  and  armies,  did 
not  think  them  equal  to  the  conquest  of  a  country  which  was 
not  the  owner  of  a  single  ship,  regiment  or  magazine  ? '  he  re- 
joined, that  '  he  could  only  say,  justice  would  be  on  our  side, 
and  the  event  with  Providence  ;  but  that  he  had  calculated,  if 
it  required  six  years  for  the  combined  forces  of  England  and 
her  colonies  to  conquer  such  a  feeble  country  as  Canada,  it 
would,  at  least,  take  a  very  long  time  for  England  alone  to 
overcome  her  own  widely  extended  colonies,  which  were  much 
stronger  than  Canada  ;  that  when  men  fought  for  everything 
dear,  in  what  they  believed  to  be  the  most  sacred  of  all  causes, 
and  in  their  own  native  land,  they  would  have  great  advantages 
over  their  enemies  who  were  not  in  the  same  situation  ;  and 
that,  having  taken  into  view  all  circumstances,  for  his  own 
part  he  fully  believed  that  America  would  not  be  so  easily  con- 
quered by  England  as  those  gentlemen  seemed  to  expect.' 
Being  once,  in  particular,  asked,  '  whether  he  did  not  seriously 
believe  that  a  well  appointed  British  army  of  five  thousand 
veterans  could  march  through  the  whole  continent  of  America?' 
he  replied  briskly,  '  no  doubt,  if  they  behaved  civilly,  and  paid 
well  for  everything  they  wanted'; — 'but,' — after  a  moment's 
pause  [he]  added — '  if  they  should  attempt  it  in  a  hostile  man- 
ner (though  the  American  men  were  out  of  the  question)  the 
women,  with  their  ladles  and  broomsticks,  would  knock  them 
all  on  the  head  before  they  had  got  half  way  through.'  " 

When  Putnam  went  back  to  Connecticut,  he  carried 
with  him  a  letter  in  which  the  Boston  Committee  of 
Correspondence  gratefully  acknowledged  the  gift  which 
the  Brooklyn  Parish  had  sent. 

After  his  return  from  Boston,  Putnam  was  more  than 
ever — to  use  Bancroft's  characterisation  of  him — "  the 
oracle  of  all  patriotic  circles  in  his  neighbourhood," 


i8o 


Israel  Putnam 


[1773-74] 


He  was  alert  for  tidings  from  the  Massachusetts 
patriots  which  might  make  it  necessary  to  go  to  their 
assistance  with  arms  ;  and  he  had  been  at  home  only 
a  few  days  when  the  whole  country  was  thrown  into 
the  greatest  excitement. 


CHAPTER   XV 
war's  alarms 


1774-1775 

j|N  uprising  in  which  Putnam  had  an 
influential  part  occurred  just  three 
months  after  the  Boston  Port  Bill  went 
into  effect.  The  immediate  origin  of 
this  alarm,  which  caused  the  patriots  in 
large  numbers  throughout  New  Eng- 
land to  rush  to  arms  and  start  for  Boston  to  defend  their 
liberties,  was  the  hostile  act  of  General  Gage  in  seizing 
some  powder  and  cannon.  The  Massachusetts  towns 
had  been  accustomed  to  store  their  powder,  together 
with  that  of  the  province,  in  the  magazine  on  Quarry 
Hill,  in  Charlestown,  but,  as  a  precaution  against  the 
war  which  was  threatening  the  towns,  took  away  their 
supply  in  August,  1774.  When  General  Gage  learned 
that  the  ammunition  of  the  province  remained  there,  he 
decided  to  secure  it  by  removing  it  to  Castle  William  in 
Boston  Harbour.  Two  hundred  and  sixty  men,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Maddison,  were 
accordingly  sent  to  accomplish  this  object.  They  em- 
barked in  thirteen  boats  at  Long  Wharf,  Boston,  about 
dawn  on  the  1st  day  of  September,  and  passed  up  Mystic 
River  ao  far  as  Temple's  Farm  (The  Ten  Hills).    There 


82  Israel  Putnam 


[1774- 


the  soldiers  landed  within  a  mile  of  the  powder-house 
and,  having  crossed  over  Winter  Hill,  conveyed  all  the 
powder,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  half-bar- 
rels, from  the  magazine  to  their  boats,  while  the 
detachment  which  was  sent  to  Cambridge  seized  two 
field-pieces  there.  The  British  then  transported  what 
they  had  captured  to  Castle  William. 

The  news  of  this  inroad  spread  rapidly.  A  large 
crowd  gathered  on  Cambridge  Common.  Many  of  the 
patriots  wished  to  use  violent  measures  and  recover 
the  powder  and  cannon,  but  were  urged  by  Joseph 
Warren  and  other  influential  leaders  to  disperse 
quietly.  This  they  did,  but  forced  Iyieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  Oliver,  and  other  persons  who  had  accepted 
appointment  to  office  by  the  King,  to  resign. 

Meanwhile  the  report  of  the  seizure  by  the  British 
sped  onward,  becoming  greatly  exaggerated  on  the  way, 
so  that  by  the  time  it  reached  Connecticut  the  rumour 
was  that  the  enemy's  army  and  fleet  had  attacked 
Boston  and  killed  several  persons  at  the  first  shot. 
Putnam  received  the  alarm  at  his  home  on  Saturday 
morning,  September  3rd,  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  immedi- 
ately wrote  to  Captain  Aaron  Cleveland  of  Canterbury, 
urging  him  to  rally  all  the  forces  possible  and  march  at 
once  to  the  scene  of  bloodshed.  Captain  Cleveland 
countersigned  the  letter  and  sent  it  to  Norwich,  where 
it  arrived  at  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  and  was  printed  in  the  form  of  handbills  and  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  town  and  vicinity.  From 
Norwich  Putnam's  letter  was  forwarded  southward  by 
Captain  John  Durkee,  and  was  endorsed  by  influential 
patriots  at  New  London,  New  Haven,  and  New  York. 
Everywhere  it  created  great  excitement. 

"Two  days  ago,"  wrote  a  gentleman,  on  September  7th,  from 


1775]  War's  Alarms  183 

New  York  to  a  friend  in  Annapolis,  "  we  were  alarmed  here  by 
the  arrival  of  an  Express  from  a  Colonel  Putnam,  of  Connecti- 
cut, to  the  Committee  of  this  City,  with  intelligence  that  a  cer- 
tain person  was  just  come  to  his  house  from  Boston  to  acquaint 
him  that  an  affray  had  happened  between  the  People  and  the 
Troops,  in  which  six  of  the  former  were  killed  ;  and  that  when 
said  person  left  Boston,  the  Artillery  from  the  Common,  and 
Men-of-War,  had  been  firing  upon  the  Town  all  the  night  of 
the  1st  of  September.  Colonel  Putnam,  upon  this  advice, 
alarmed  the  whole  country,  requiring  them  to  arm  them- 
selves and  take  the  road  to  Boston,  which  they  actually  did, 
insomuch  that  the  Post  says  the  roads  were  covered  with 
people.* 

The  response  to  Putnam's  summons  to  arms  was 
prompt  and  universal  throughout  Connecticut.  In  a 
letter  to  Silas  Deane,  who  was  one  of  the  Connecticut 
delegates  to  the  first  Continental  Congress,  which  had 
just  assembled  at  Philadelphia,  Titus  Hosmer  ot 
Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  describes  his  own  experi- 
ence in  being  called  out  of  bed  in  the  early  morning 
by  the  sheriff,  who  showed  him  the  message.  By  this 
time,"  says  Hosmer,  "  the  people  gathered  from  all 
quarters  like  a  snowball."  Then  alluding  to  the 
scrawling  chirography  of  Putnam's  letter,  he  adds, 
"  The  contents  —  was  something  —  but,  to  puzzle  any- 
one, sufficient.  The  purport  was,  Boston  was  in 
action."  f 

In  passing  through  other  parts  of  Connecticut  on 
Sunday,  September  4th,  the  letter  from  Putnam  arrived 
in  some  of  the  towns  while  the  people  were  assembled 
for  worship  in  the  meeting-houses  and  it  was  read 
publicly   from    the    pulpits,  the   ministers    in  several 

*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  i.,  p.  942. 
\  Collections  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society ■,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
!53- 


184  Israel  Putnam  [i774- 

instances  joining  members  of  the  congregation  in  set- 
ting off  immediately  for  the  place  of  the  supposed  en- 
gagement. Putnam  himself  had  started  for  Boston, 
but  before  leaving  home  he  had  made  a  facetious  thrust 
at  his  loyalist  neighbour  by  sending  him  the  follow- 
ing note  : 

"  Saturday,  12  p.m. 
"  Dear  Sir. — I  have  this  minute  had  an  express  from  Boston 
that  the  fight  between  Boston  and  Regulars  [began]  last  night 
at  sunset,  and  the  cannon  began  to  and  continued  playing  all 
night,  and  they  beg  for  help, — and  don't  you  thiuk  it  is  time 
to  go? 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"Israel  Putnam." 
"To  Coi,.  Mai,bone." 

Malbone's  reply  was  terse  and  speedy,  "  Go  to  the 
Devil!" 

When  Putnam  was  about  thirty  miles  from  Pomfret, 
on  his  hurried  ride  towards  Boston,  he  learned  that  the 
alarm  was  false.  He  accordingly  turned  back  and 
sent  word  to  the  Connecticut  forces  that  they  need 
proceed  no  farther. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  how  many  men  in  all 
started  for  Boston.  Reports  differ,  and,  as  was  natural 
in  the  excitement  of  the  time,  some  persons  greatly 
overestimated  the  number.  John  Andrews  of  Boston, 
writing  on  September  6,  1774,  to  William  Barrell,  a 
merchant  of  Philadelphia,  placed  the  number  as  high 
as  an  hundred  thousand  men,  who,  he  says, 

"were  equipt  with  arms  and  moving  towards  us  from  different 
parts  of  the  country.  The  celebrated  Colonel  Putnam  was  at 
the  head  of  fifteen  thousand  and  it's  said  that  five  and  twenty 
thousand  more  were  in  a  body  a  day's  march  behind  him.  .  .  . 
It  's  greatly  to  their  credit  that  in  all  the  different  parties  that 
were  collected,  and  in  all  their  various  movements,  there  was 


1775]  War's  Alarms  185 

as  much  good  order  and  decorum  observ'd  as  when  attending 
church  on  Sunday.* 

The  patriotism  which  had  prompted  the  Connecticut 
men  to  respond,  so  quickly  to  the  alarm,  until  they  were 
assured  by  the  expresses  from  Boston  that  the  help  of 
the  militia  was  not  needed  at  present,  was  also  shown 
at  once  in  the  letters  of  the  Committees  of  Correspond- 
ence offering  support  to  Massachusetts  in  the  impend- 
ing revolution.  Putnam  and  his  committee  wrote,  on 
September  4th,  to  Boston  : 

"  Words  cannot  express  the  gladness  discovered  by  every  one 
at  the  appearance  of  a  door  being  opened  to  avenge  the  many 
abuses  and  insults  which  those  foes  to  liberty  have  offered  to 
our  brethren  in  your  town  and  province.  But  for  counter  in- 
telligence, we  should  have  had  forty  thousand  men  well 
equipped  and  ready  to  march  this  morning.  Send  a  written 
express  to  the  foreman  of  this  committee  when  you  have  oc- 
casion for  our  martial  assistance  ;  we  shall  attend  your  sum- 
mons, and  shall  glory  in  having  a  share  in  the  honour  of  ridding 
our  country  of  the  yoke  of  tyranny,  which  our  forefathers  have 
not  borne,  neither  will  we  ;  and  we  much  desire  you  to  keep 
a  strict  guard  over  the  remainder  of  your  powder,  for  that 
must  be  the  great  means,  under  God,  of  the  salvation  of  our 
country." 

The  energy  of  Putnam  in  calling  out  the  militia  did 
not  meet  with  generous  treatment  by  all  the  patriots 
when  the  alarm  proved  to  be  false.  Some  of  them 
feared  that  the  premature  excitement  occasioned  by 
"  Putnam's  blundering  story,"  as  Silas  Deane  called 
it,  might  strengthen  a  sentiment  against  the  attempts 
to  obtain  reconciliation  with  the  mother  country,  and 
therefore  a  conflict  would  be  precipitated.  The  up- 
rising had  the  effect,  at  least,  of  warning  General  Gage, 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  vol. 
viii.,  p.  355- 


1 86  Israel  Putnam  [i774- 

so  that  he  began  to  fortify  Boston  Neck.  One  of  the 
defenders  of  this  British  commander  said,  in  an  open 
letter  to  Peyton  Randolph,  President  of  the  Continental 
Congress  : 

"A  Colonel  Putnam  of  Connecticut,  with  a  zeal  not  accord- 
ing to  knowledge,  alarmed  that  and  all  the  Southern  Provinces, 
and  the  whole  country  was  in  motion.  Under  all  these  hostile 
appearances,  what  was  it  the  duty  of  a  good  General  to  do? 
Was  it  not  to  secure  his  troops  in  the  best  manner  he  could 
against  the  threatened  Invasion  ?  This  his  Excellency  General 
Gage  did  by  repairing  the  old  Fortifications  at  the  entrance 
into  the  Town,  and  by  throwing  up  an  entrenchment  still 
further  from  the  Town,  on  each  side  of  the  common  road."  * 

Nearly  two  weeks  after  the  false  alarm  there  ap- 
peared in  the  columns  of  the  New  York  Gazette  and 
Weekly  Mercury  a  sarcastic  article  censuring  Putnam 
for  his  part  in  the  affair.  In  reply  he  wrote  a  strong 
open  letter,  which  was  originally  published,  October  7, 
1774,  in  the  Connecticut  Gazette  at  New  London.  It 
vindicates  his  conduct,  and,  not  being  marred  by  mis- 
spelled words  —  those  errors  of  Putnam  were  corrected 
in  the  old  newspaper — it  is,  with  its  virile  style  and 
classic  allusions,  a  good  interpreter  of  his  intelligence 
and  force. 

This  is  the  letter  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  been 
preserved  to  us  : 

AN  OPEN  LETTER  OF  ISRAEL  PUTNAM  EXPLAINING 

AND  DEFENDING  HIS  COURSE  AT  THE  TIME  OF 

THE  FALSE  ALARM  IN  SEPTEMBER,  1774. 

"  POMFRET,  October  3,  1774. 
"In  Mr.  Gaine's  New  York  Gazette,  of  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, I  am  called  upon  to  set  the  affair  of  my  writing  a  letter  to 
Captain  Cleveland  in  a  true  light,  which  was  wrote  in  conse- 
quence of  intelligence  brought  me  by  Captain  Keys,  on  the  3rd 

*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  i.,  p.  943. 


1775]  War's  Alarms  187 

of  September  last.  Being  then  at  home  about  my  lawful  busi- 
ness, said  Keys  came  to  my  house  about  eleven  o'clock  a.m., 
and  informed  me  that  an  Express  came  from  Boston  to  Oxford, 
who  set  out  from  thence  on  the  preceding  evening,  and 
brought  the  alarming  tidings  contained  in  my  letter  herein 
inserted.  The  true  state  of  the  case,  as  I  have  since  learned, 
is  as  follows : 

"Wilcot,  Esquire,  of  Oxford,  hearing  the  news,  posted  his 
son  off.  towards  Boston  to  learn  the  certainty  of  the  report; 
and  when  he  came  to  Grafton,  about  thirty-five  miles  from 
Boston,  he  heard  a  further  confirmation  of  it,  and  returned  im- 
mediately back  to  Oxford,  when  the  said  Wilcot,  his  father, 
sent  him  to  Dudley,  to  Carter's  Tavern,  where  one  Mr.  Clarke, 
of  that  town,  a  trader,  happened  to  be,  and  he  came  to  his 
father,  Captain  Clarke,  of  Woodstock,  who  came  to  said  Keys, 
and  on  his  coming  to  me  with  the  strongest  assurances  of  the 
truth  and  reality  of  said  report,  I  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
Captain  Aaron  Cleveland  of  Canterbury  : 

"  '  Mr.  Keys  this  moment  brought  us  the  news  that  the  Men- 
of-War  and  Troops  began  to  fire  upon  the  people  last  night  at 
sunset,  at  Boston,  when  a  post  was  immediately  sent  off  to  in- 
form the  country.  He  informed  that  the  Artillery  played  all 
night,  that  the  people  were  universally  rallying  as  far  as  here, 
and  desire  all  the  assistance  possible. 

"  'The  first  commencement  of  hostilities  was  occasioned  by 
the  country's  being  robbed  of  their  powder,  from  Boston  as  far 
as  Framingham  ;  and  when  found  out,  the  persons  who  went 
to  take  the  perpetrator  of  the  horrid  deed  (who  had  fled  to  the 
Camp)  were  immediately  fired  upon,  six  of  our  number  were 
killed  the  first  shot,  and  a  number  wounded  ;  and  beg  you  will 
rally  all  the  forces  you  can,  and  be  upon  the  march  immediately 
for  the  relief  of  Boston,  and  the  people  that  way. 

11  '  Israel  Putnam.'  " 

"The  title  of  'Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  Connecticut 
Forces,'  I  did  not  assume  in  my  said  letter,  it  being  inserted 
in  the  New  York  Paper  by  the  Printer's  own  capricious  whim, 
or  to  gratify  some  of  his  votaries. 

"  The  above  letter  is  as  nearly  conformable  to  the  original  as 
I  can  recollect,  not  having  a  copy  of  it ;  by  comparing  which 


1 88  Israel  Putnam 


[1774- 


with  that  inserted  in  said  Gaine's  Paper,  the  reader  will  per- 
ceive they  somewhat  differ.  Whether  the  difference  arises 
from  a  wrong  copy  sent  forward  by  Captain  Cleveland,  or  from 
some  other  cause,  I  am  not  able  to  determine.  I  hope  the 
reader  will  make  a  proper  allowance  for  incorrectness,  when  he 
considers  it  was  wrote  in  great  haste,  and  the  author  aimed  at 
nothing  but  plain  matters  of  fact,  as  they  were  delivered  to 
him,  not  expecting  said  letter  would  have  been  transported 
through  the  Continent,  subject  to  the  critical  inspection  of  the 
learned  in  every  Town. 

"The  writer  in  Mr.  Gaine's  Paper  of  September  10,  who 
styles  himself  a  New- York  Freeholder,  introduces  his  piece 
with  a  rhetorical  picture  of  the  horrours  of  a  civil  war  ;  which, 
though  I  agree  with  him  that  it  brings  a  train  of  evils  along 
with  it,  yet  when  drove  to  a  state  of  desperation  by  the  oppress- 
ive hand  of  tyranny  and  the  lawless  violence  of  arbitrary 
power,  what  people  on  earth  would  not  be  justified,  in  the  eye 
of  right  reason  and  common  sense,  for  the  resistance  even  to 
the  shedding  of  blood,  if  the  preservation  of  their  liberties 
demanded  it.  After  having  said  sufficient  to  alarm  the  fears  of 
all  those  who  have  a  pusillanimity  of  soul,  or  rather  an  infam- 
ous desire  of  screening  their  Jacobitish  principles  under  the 
mask  of  dread  of  consequences,  he  ushers  in  this  paragraph  with 
a  sneer:  'Colonel  Putnam's  famous  letter,  forwarded  by 
special  messengers  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  the 
consequences  it  produced  are  very  recent  and  fresh  in  our 
memories.'  Then,  after  reciting  some  part  of  my  letter,  he 
proceeds,  'The  evident  confusion  of  ideas  in  this  letter  betrays 
the  state  of  the  poor  Colonel's  mind  whilst  writing  it,  and 
shews  he  did  not  possess  that  calm  fortitude  which  is  necessary 
to  insure  success  in  military  enterprises.'  Paying  all  due 
deference  to  this  author's  learning,  and  his  undoubted  ac- 
quaintance with  the  rules  of  grammar  and  criticism,  I  would 
beg  leave  to  ask  him  whether  he  does  not  betray  a  total  want 
of  the  blessings  of  humanity,  if  he  supposes,  in  the  midst  of 
confusion,  when  the  passions  are  agitated  with  a  real  belief  of 
thousands  of  their  fellow-countrymen  being  slain,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  a  whole  City  just  upon  the  eve  of  being  made  a 
sacrifice  by  the  rapine  and  fury  of  a  merciless  Soldiery,  and 


1775]  War's  Alarms  189 

their  City  laid  in  ashes  by  the  fire  of  the  Ships  of  War,  he  or 
any  one  else  could  set  down  under  the  possession  of  a  calmness 
of  soul  becoming  a  Roman  Senator,  and  attend  to  all  the  rules 
of  composition  in  writing  a  letter  to  make  a  representation  of 
plain  matters  of  fact,  under  the  hieroglyphical  similitude  of 
tropes  and  figures  ? 

"  He  goes  on  to  cast  a  censure  upon  the  New  England  Colon- 
ies, saying  the  above  mentioned  report  '  has  eventually  made 
evident,  past  all  doubt,  that  many  in  the  New  England  Colon- 
ies are  disposed  and  ripe  for  the  most  violent  measures.'  This 
is  as  gross  a  falsehood  as  the  Boston  alarm,  and  discovers  the 
evident  disposition  of  the  author  to  cast  an  odium  upon  the 
patriotick  sons  of  New  England,  whose  arms  are  emblazoned 
with  humanity  ;  who  wish  to  gain  a  redress  of  their  grievances 
by  the  most  pacifick  and  gentle  means  ;  but  rather  than  submit 
to  slavery,  are  determined  to  drench  their  swords  in  blood, 
and  die  generously,  or  live  free  ! — Under  whose  banners,  possi- 
bly, this  Jesuitical  pretender  to  friendship  for  the  liberties  of 
America  and  the  British  Constitution,  may  be  glad  to  take 
sanctuary,  when  the  virtuous  inhabitants  of  the  Colony  into 
which  he  fled  from  the  Scotch  rebellion,  may  find  him  out, 
and  pass  that  act  of  outlawry  against  him,  which  every  Jaco- 
bitish  hypocrite  deserves. 

"  Now,  I  submit  it  to  the  determination  of  every  candid  un- 
prejudiced reader,  whether  my  conduct  in  writing  the  above 
mentioned  letter,  merits  the  imputation  of  imprudence,  as- 
serted by  said  writer ;  or  whether  they  would  have  had  me 
tamely  sit  down  and  been  a  spectator  of  the  inhuman  sacrifice 
of  my  friends  and  fellow-countrymen  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
Nero  like,  have  sat  down  and  fiddled,  while  I  really  supposed 
Boston  was  in  flames  ;  or  exerted  myself  for  their  relief?  And 
pray,  in  what  easier  way  could  I  have  proceeded,  than  in  writ- 
ing to  one  of  the  Militia  Captains,  (who  I  desired  to  forward 
the  intelligence  to  the  adjacent  Towns,)  when  I  really  believed 
the  story  to  be  true?  Which,  having  done,  I  immediately  mounted 
my  horse  and  made  the  best  of  my  way  towards  Boston,  having 
only  four  gentlemen  to  accompany  me.  Having  proceeded  as 
far  as  Douglass,  which  is  about  thirty  miles  from  my  own 
house,  I  met  Captain  Hill,  of  that  Town,  with  his  Company, 


190  Israel  Putnam  [1774- 

who  had  been  down  within  about  thirty  miles  of  Boston,  and 
had  just  returned.  He  informed  me  that  the  alarm  was  false, 
and  that  the  forces  of  Worcester  and  Sutton  were  upon  their 
return.  I  then  turned  my  course  homewards  without  loss  of 
time,  and  reached  my  house  on  Sunday  morning  about  sun- 
rising,  taking  care  to  acquaint  the  people  on  the  road  that  they 
need  not  proceed  any  further.  Immediately  on  my  return,  I 
sent  an  express  to  Captain  Cleveland,  letting  him  know  what 
intelligence  I  had  heard,  and  desiring  him  to  give  the  like  in- 
formation to  the  adjoining  Towns  to  the  Southward. 

"I  believe  the  alarm  was  first  occasioned  by  Mr.  Benjamin 
Hallowell,  who,  going  into  Boston  in  a  great  fright,  informed 
the  Army  that  he  had  killed  one  man  and  wounded  another, 
while  they  were  pursuing  him  from  Cambridge,  and  that  the 
country  were  all  in  arms  marching  into  Boston  ;  which  threw 
the  military  into  great  consternation  ;  and  they  were  quickly 
paraded  and  put  into  the  most  convenient  posture  of  defence, 
in  which  position  they  remained  till  next  day.  In  the  midst 
of  this  hurry  and  confusion,  I  believe  a  post  was  dispatched 
into  the  country,  but  by  whom,  or  to  answer  what  purpose,  I 
cannot  tell ;  but  what  took  place  in  consequence  of  it  is  evid- 
ent. General  Gage's  apprehension  of  danger  was  so  great, 
that  he  speedily  began  to  fortify  the  entrance  to  the  Town,  to 
prevent  a  surprise  from  the  enemy  without. 

"  From  what  has  been  said,  I  believe  it  will  sufficiently  ap- 
pear that  I  was  not  the  inventor  of  this  alarm  ;  and  I  am  told 
from  good  authority,  that  the  people  were  in  motion  in  the 
Northward  part  of  Massachusetts  Government,  even  to  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  miles  from  Boston,  who  were  alarmed 
by  an  Express  sent  thither  by  the  same  Wilcot,  above  men- 
tioned, before  the  news  reached  me,  which  I  think  is  enough 
to  silence  the  ill-natured  aspersions  of  every  cavilling  Tory 
against  my  conduct,  and  make  them,  dog-like,  draw  in  their 
tails  and  lop  their  ears,  and  skulk  into  some  obscure  hole  or 
kennel  and  hide  themselves  from  the  contempt  of  the  world. 
Having  evidently  discovered  their  attempt  to  stir  up  a  spirit 
of  animosity  and  disunion  among  the  good  people  of  the  Colon- 
ies, I  pray  God  it  may  prove  abortive. 

"Israel  Putnam." 


i775]  War's  Alarms  191 

Although  the  September  alarm  was  found  to  be  false, 
the  efficiency  of  Putnam  in  arousing  the  people  at  the 
time  of  the  supposed  emergency  made  many  of  the 
patriots,  particularly  those  living  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Connecticut,  look  to  him  as  their  leader  against  the 
British  encroachments.  They  called  him  their  "  Gen- 
eral ' '  before  that  title  was  conferred  upon  him  officially ; 
and  "  notices  to  this  effect,"  says  his  son  Daniel, 
"  flowed  in  upon  him  from  every  quarter  after  the  alarm 
had  subsided."  * 

In  October  of  this  year  (1774)  the  Connecticut  As- 
sembly, in  session  at  New  Haven,  ordered  the  towns  of 
the  colony  to  provide  at  the  earliest  possible  date 
"  double  the  quantity  of  powder,  ball  and  flints  that 
they  were  heretofore  by  law  obliged  to  provide."  A 
large  number  of  militia  officers  were  appointed,  Put- 
nam himself  being  made  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
Eleventh  Regiment,  which  was  composed  of  the  com- 
panies from  Woodstock,  Pomfret,  and  Killingly.f 
Throughout  Connecticut  the  train-bands  were  drilled 
with  greater  energy  than  ever  and  every  precaution 
taken  for  defence  in  the  "alarming  crisis."  Outside 
Putnam's  own  colony,  too,  the  belligerent  feeling  was 
shown  by  vigorous  military  practice.  The  warlike 
preparations  of  the  colonists  were  well-timed,  for  the 
King's  troops  made  an  aggressive  movement  in  April. 
On  the  evening  of  the  18th  of  that  month,  a  detachment 
of  eight  hundred  men,  under  orders  from  General 
Gage,  started  from  Boston,  intending  not  only  to  capture 

*  Letter  of  Daniel  Putnam,  written  in  1825  to  the  Bunker 
Hill  Monument  Association,  and  printed  in  i860  in  the  Collec- 
tions of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society \  vol.  i. 

f  Record  of  Connecticut  Men  during  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, Adjutant-General's  Office,  Hartford. 


192  Israel  Putnam  [i774- 

the  military  stores  collected  at  Concord,  but  also 
to  stop  on  the  way  at  Lexington  and  arrest  the  ' '  arch- 
rebels,"  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock.  So  ex- 
peditiously, however,  did  the  patriotic  messenger,  Paul 
Revere,  forewarn  the  people  that  the  British  soldiers 
were  defeated  in  their  purpose  and  hotly  pursued  back 
to  Boston  by  the  armed  yeomanry.*  In  this  series  of 
skirmishes  on  April  19th,  the  retreating  troops  left 
nearly  three  hundred  of  their  number  killed  or  wounded 
along  the  road,  while  the  Americans  lost  less  than  one- 
third  that  number.  The  news  of  the  affair  spread  with 
remarkable  swiftness.  It  was  indeed  "  the  spark  " — to 
use  the  historian  Gordon's  words  —  which  "set  the 
whole  continent  in  a  flame." 

On  Thursday  morning,  April  20th,  Putnam  and  his 
son  Daniel,  who  was  then  fifteen  years  of  age,  had  gone 
into  the  field  near  the  tavern  at  Brooklyn  Green  to 
plow.  They  were  busily  at  work  when  about  eight 
o'clock  a  messenger  rode  into  the  village  in  hot  haste, 


*  Although  Putnam  was  not  present  at  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, the  pistols  which  he  carried  in  the  American  Revolution 
were  a  trophy  of  that  eventful  day.  They  were  none  other 
than  those  of  Major  Pitcairn  who  had  discharged  one  of  them 
when  he  gave  his  soldiers  the  order  to  fire  on  the  minutemen 
who  were  drawn  up  on  Lexington  Green.  Later  in  the  day, 
when  the  British  were  retreating,  Pitcairn 's  horse  was  shot 
under  him,  and  in  the  haste  of  dismounting  in  order  to  escape 
his  pursuers,  the  British  officer  left  his  weapons  behind  him. 
They  were  captured  by  the  Americans  and,  a  few  weeks  later, 
were  offered  as  a  gift  to  Washington,  but  he  declined  them. 
They  were  then  presented  to  Putnam  and  were  his  constant 
companions  during  the  rest  of  his  military  career.  These  silver- 
mounted  and  handsomely  engraved  pistols  are  now  kept  in  the 
Cary  Library  at  Lexington,  having  been  given  to  the  town  by 
the  widow  of  John  P.  Putnam,  of  Cambridge,  N.  Y. 


V 


i775j  War's  Alarms  193 

with  a  dispatch  for  Daniel  Tyler,  Jr.*  It  was  from  the 
town  clerk  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  who  had  for- 
warded a  copy  of  a  letter  which  he  had  received  from  the 
Committee  of  Safety  at  Watertown,  dated  "  Wednes- 
day morning,  Near  10  o'clock,  April  19,  1775," 
announcing  that  the  British  had  fired  on  the  militia  at 
Lexington,  had  "  killed  six  men  and  wounded  four 
others,"  and  were  on  their  march  into  the  country. 
Young  Tyler  hurried  with  the  news  to  his  father-in- 
law  in  the  field.  In  instant  response  to  the  alarm, 
Putnam  —  so  wrote  his  son  Daniel  in  after  years  — 
"  loitered  not  but  left  me,  the  driver  of  his  team,  to  un- 
yoke it  in  the  furrow,  and  not  many  days  after  to  follow 
him  to  camp."  Without  changing  his  working-clothes, 
the  energetic  patriot  mounted  a  horse  at  the  stable  that 
he  might  himself  spread  the  alarming  tidings  and  also 
consult  with  the  militia  officers  and  the  committees  of 
the  neighbouring  towns  of  Windham  County.  He 
hastened  to  the  home  of  Governor  Jonathan  Trum- 
bull at  Lebanon,  and  received  orders  from  him  to  go 
to  Boston. 

Meantime,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
another  dispatch  reached  Putnam's  village,  giving  an 
account  of  the  fight  at  Concord.  Colonel  Ebenezer  Wil- 
liams of  Pomfret,  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  forwarded  the  news  by  express  to 
Canterbury  and  elsewhere,  urging  "  every  man  who  is 
fit  and  willing"  to  come  out  for  action,  for  "  there 
were  about  forty  of  our  men  killed  "  by  the  British. 

When  Putnam  returned  home,  two  hours  or  so  after 
the  second  dispatch  was  received,  he  found  hundreds 
of  men  gathered  on  Brooklyn  Green  ready  to  obey  his 

*  Daniel  Tyler,  Jr.,  was  Putnam's  son-in-law,  having  married 
his  daughter  Mehitable  in  1771. 
13 


194  Israel  Putnam  [i774- 

orders.  He  told  them  that,  according  to  the  arrange- 
ments which  he  had  been  making  on  his  consultatory 
tour,  military  officers  would  soon  arrive  to  direct  their 
movements.  It  was  now  nearly  sunset,  but  without 
stopping  to  rest  or  to  change  the  checked  farmer's  frock 
which  he  had  been  wearing  since  he  left  his  plough  in 
the  morning,  Putnam,  indefatigable  patriot  that  he 
was,  started  on  a  night  ride  for  Cambridge.  That  he 
reached  there  the  next  day,  and  after  consultation  with 
the  Committee  of  Safety  galloped  on  to  Concord  is 
evident  from  the  following  letter  which  he  wrote  to 
Colonel  Williams  of  Pomfret.  He  had  ridden  not  less 
than  a  hundred  miles  in  eighteen  hours. 

11  Concord,  April  21. 

"  To  Colonel  E.  Williams.  Sir — I  have  waited  on  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  it  is  their  Determination 
to  have  a  standing  Army  of  22,000  men  from  the  New-England 
Colonies,  of  which  it  is  supposed  the  Colony  of  Connecticut 
must  raise  6000,  and  begs  they  would  be  at  Cambridge  as 
speedily  as  possible,  with  Conveniences  ;  together  with  Provi- 
sions, and  a  Sufficiency  of  Ammunition  for  their  own  Use. 

"The  Battle  here  is  much  as  has  been  represented  at  Pomfret, 
except  that  there  is  more  killed  and  a  Number  more  taken 
Prisoners. 

"  The  Accounts  at  present  are  so  confused  that  it  is  impossible 
to  ascertain  the  number  exact,  but  shall  inform  you  of  the 
Proceedings,  from  Time  to  Time,  as  we  have  new  Occurrences  ; 
mean  Time,  I  am, 

"  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"  Israel  Putnam. 

"  N.  B.  The  troops  of  Horse  are  not  expected  to  come  until 
further  notice." 

"  A  true  copy,  E.  Wiixiams."  * 

*  This  is  the  form  in  which  Putnam's  letter  appears  as 
printed  in  an  extra  from  the  office  of  the  Packet,  published  at 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  on  Sunday,  April  23,  1775.     The  broad- 


I 
I- 

<    i 

HI     o 


1775]  War's  Alarms  195 

Putnam  returned  from  Concord  to  Cambridge  with- 
out delay,  for  we  find  him,  on  April  22nd,  present  at  a 
Council  of  War*  held  at  the  latter  place.  He  sent 
dispatches,  also,  from  Cambridge  on  that  date,  to  the 
Connecticut  Committees  of  Correspondence,  urging 
them  to  forward  immediately  supplies  of  troops  and 
provisions. 

Just  a  week  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  General 
Artemas  Ward,  the  chief  commander  of  the  Massachu- 
setts forces,  was  at  Roxbury,  while  Putnam  took  general 
command  of  the  minutemen  and  individual  volunteers, 
who  arrived  in  large  numbers  at  Cambridge.  In  the 
excitement  and  confusion  caused  by  the  inpouring  of 
the  troops,  both  these  officers  had,  according  to  Colonel 
Jedediah  Huntington  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  who  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Boston  on  April  26th,  "  too  much  busi- 
ness upon  their  hands." 

Putnam  was  soon  summoned  back  to  Connecticut, 
for  the  General  Assembly  in  special  session  at  Hartford 
had  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  and 
wished  to  consult  with  him  in  regard  to  the  movements 
of  the  troops  over  whom  he  had  been  appointed. 


side  of  this  special  edition  of  the  old  newspaper  has  this  im- 
print :  "  Printed  by  Robertsons  and  Trumbull,  who  will  in  a 
few  Days  have  for  Sale,  The  Crisis,  number  One  and  Two — 
A  Bloody  Court !  a  Bloody  Ministry  !  and  a  Bloody  Parlia- 
ment!" 
*  Orderly  Book  of  Colonel  William  Henshaw. 


^^B^^SMy^^3 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A  BOLD  I^ADKR 


1775 

S  Second  Brigadier-General,  Putnam 
ranked  third  among  the  officers  ap- 
pointed, April  26,  1775,  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut,  David  Woos- 
ter  of  New  Haven  having  been  chosen 
Major-General,  and  Joseph  Spencer  of 
East  Haddam,  First  Brigadier-General  of  the  force  from 
that  colony.  Bach  of  these  three  officers  was  also 
made  colonel  of  a  regiment  and  captain  of  a  company. 
The  Assembly  had  voted  to  raise  six  thousand  troops 
to  be  formed  into  six  regiments  of  ten  companies  each, 
a  company  being  composed  of  one  hundred  men.  The 
3rd  Regiment,  which  Putnam  commanded  as  colonel, 
— he  was  also  captain  of  the  1st  Company  in  the  same 
regiment, — was  recruited  chiefly  in  Windham  County, 
and  began  marching  in  May  by  companies  to  the  camps 
forming  around  Boston.  Putnam's  eldest  son,  Israel, 
was  now  to  share  in  military  service,  for  he  was  captain 
of  the  10th  Company  in  this  regiment,  and  a  few 
weeks  later  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  his  father. 

Realising  the  importance  of  being  again  near  the 
seat  of  hostilities,  Putnam  set  out  for  Boston  within  a 

196 


1775] 


A  Bold  Leader  197 


week  after  his  return  to  Connecticut.  In  passing 
through  Massachusetts  this  second  time,  he  stopped  at 
Sutton  to  rest  and  dine  at  the  home  of  his  relative, 
Deacon  Tarrant  Putnam.*  The  old  flagstone  is  still 
pointed  out  "  where  the  loving  friends  and  cousins  em- 
braced each  other  and  wept"  just  before  the  hero 
mounted  his  horse  to  continue  his  journey. 

On  his  arrival  at  Cambridge,  Putnam  found  that  the 
Borland  house  had  been  selected  as  his  headquarters. 
This  large  square  wooden  house  stood  directly  opposite 
the  present  University  building,  Gore  Hall.  John 
Borland,  a  merchant,  had  occupied  the  house  up  to  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  but  since  then,  being  a 
loyalist,  he  had  abandoned  it  and  taken  refuge  in 
Boston. 

The  reason  why  Putnam  and  his  regiment  were  kept 
at  Cambridge  while  the  rest  of  the  force  from  his 
colony  took  post  under  Spencer  at  Roxbury,  has  been 
interestingly  stated  by  Daniel  Putnam,  who  joined  his 
father  in  May,  and  had  the  opportunity  for  a  personal 
knowledge  of  the  facts  which  we  find  recorded  in  his 
valuable  letter  of  1825  to  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument 
Association  : 

"The  fact  may  not  now  be  generally  known,  but  it  is  not 
the  less  a  truth  that  the  presence  of  Genl.  Putnam  at  Cam- 
bridge was  extremely  desirable  to  Genl.  Ward,  and  it  was  for 
that  reason  that  he  was  separated  from  the  other  Connecticut 
troops  and  placed  near  Head  Quarters.     .     .     . 

"Until  the  appointment  of  Washington,  Genl.  Ward's  was  a 
delicate  and  highly  responsible  station,  and  it  was  natural  he 
should  not  only  wish  for  Genl.  Putnam's  experience  and  advice 
to  assist  him  in  difficulties,  but  there  should  be  one  who  stood 


*  History  of  Sutton,  Mass.,  by  W.  A.  Benedict  and  H.  A. 
Tracy. 


198  Israel  Putnam     *  [i775 

high  in  the  confidence  of  the  people,  on  whom  he  might  lean 
for  support,  and  with  whom  he  might  divide  the  responsibility. 
Their  views  of  public  affairs,  and  the  proper  measures  to  be 
pursued,  were  not  exactly  the  same,  but  the  utmost  harmony 
subsisted  between  them." 

Putnam,  the  aggressive  patriot,  was  from  the  first  a 
great  favourite  in  the  army,  as  his  son  Daniel  remarks 
with  pride : 

11  His  popularity  was  not  confined  to  Connecticut  but  per- 
vaded the  whole  of  the  Massachussetts  forces  then  before  Bos- 
ton ;  and  there  was  not  a  soldier  in  their  ranks  but  seemed 
ready  to  follow  him,  to  fight  for  him,  and  if  need  be  to  die  by 
his  side.  Even  Warren,  the  accomplished  gentleman,  the  dar- 
ing patriot,  and  the  future  hope  of  the  army,  delighted,  when 
the  complicated  duties  of  his  station  permitted,  to  spend  an 
hour  at  Putnam's  quarters.  He  would  listen  attentively  to  his 
tales  of  a  former  war,  and  make  earnest  and  particular  enquiries 
of  him  as  to  the  relative  power  and  influence  of  British  and 
Provincial  troops  in  that  war.  Putnam  maintained  that  when 
the  Provincial  regiments  were  well  officered,  they  were  not 
inferior  to  the  British.  '  Our  men,'  he  said,  '  would  always 
follow  wherever  their  officers  led, — I  know  this  to  have  been 
the  case  with  mine,  and  have  also  seen  it  in  other  instances.'  " 

There  were  grave  apprehensions  of  a  sally  from 
Boston  by  the  King's  troops,  but  the  intrepid  Putnam 
assured,  his  fellow-patriots  that  the  advantage  would  all 
be  on  the  American  side,  however  large  a  force  the 
enemy  might  send  out. 

"Warren  asked  him,"  continues  Daniel  Putnam,  "if  10,000 
British  troops  should  march  out  of  Boston,  what  number  in 
his  opinion  would  be  competent  to  meet  them  ?  Putnam 
answered,  'Iyet  me  pick  my  officers,  and  I  would  not  fear  to 
meet  them  with  half  the  number  ; — not  in  a  pitched  battle  to 


1775]  A  Bold  Leader  199 

stop  them  aj  once,  for  no  troops  are  better  than  the  British, 
but  I  would  fight  on  the  retreat,  and  every  stone-wall  we  passed 
should  be  lined  with  their  dead  ; — our  men  are  lighter  of  foot, 
they  understand  our  grounds  and  how  to  take  advantage  of 
them  ;  and  besides,  we  should  only  fall  back  on  our  reserve, 
while  every  step  they  advanced,  the  country  would  close  on 
their  flanks  and  rear.'  " 


The  bold  officer  was  not  satisfied  with  merely  utter- 
ing stout-hearted  words.  He  was  eager  that  fortifica- 
tions should  be  begun  at  once  in  order  that  the 
Americans  might  be  fully  prepared  to  repel  an  attack 
and  prevent  the  enemy  from  even  attempting  an  ad- 
vance into  the  country.  Detachments  of  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  troops  were  accordingly  set  to  work  in 
building  defences  in  Cambridge  and  in  throwing  up  a 
breastwork  on  the  Cambridge  road,  near  the  base  of 
Prospect  Hill.  Putnam  is  described  as  being  "  con- 
stantly on  horseback  or  on  foot,  working  with  his  men 
or  encouraging  them."  On  his  round  of  inspection,  he 
found  one  day  that  some  of  the  Massachusetts  men  had 
been  evidently  neglecting  their  work.  Caleb  Haskell, 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  used  afterwards  to  tell  how 
Putnam  demanded  of  them,  "  To  what  regiment  do 
you  belong  ?  "  "  To  Colonel  Doolittle's,"  they  replied. 
"  Doolittle  ?  Do  nothing  at  all!  "  the  General  bluntly 
exclaimed. 

The  importance  of  defence  against  the  British  was 
not  Putnam's  only  reason  for  having  the  fortifications 
built. 

"His  experience  had  taught  him,"  so  Daniel  recounts  what 
he  had  often  heard  his  father  say,  "that  raw  and  undisciplined 
troops  must  be  employed  in  some  way  or  other,  or  they  would 
soon  become   vicious   and   unmanageable.      His  maxim   was, 


200  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

'  It  is  better  to  dig  a  ditch  every  morning  and*fill  it  up  at 
evening  than  to  have  the  men  idle.'  " 

Prospect  Hill  and  the  Charlestown  Heights  were 
points  which  Putnam  was  strongly  in  favour  of  fortify- 
ing, but  at  this  early  period  many  of  the  officers  as 
well  as  members  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  and  the 
Provincial  Congress  appear  to  have  been  unwilling  to 
consent  to  such  aggressive  movements.  The  Connect- 
icut general  found,  however,  a  warm  sympathiser  in 
his  plans  in  the  gallant  Colonel  William  Prescott  of 
Massachusetts.  One  afternoon,  when  Putnam  had  just 
marked  out  at  Cambridge  a  new  line  on  which  his  men 
had  commenced  work,  this  officer,  accompanied  by 
Colonel  Gardiner,  came  up. 

11  I  wish,  General,"  said  Prescott,  "  your  men  were 
digging  nearer  Boston."  "  I  wish  so,  too,"  replied 
Putnam,  "  and  I  hope  we  shall  all  be  of  one  mind 
before  long." 

The  British  Commander  Gage,  having  learned  that 
his  personal  friend  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  was 
a  leader  in  the  army  besieging  Boston, 

"found  the  means,"  according  to  Humphreys,  "to  convey  a 
proposal  privately  to  General  Putnam  that  if  he  would  relin- 
quish the  rebel  party,  he  might  rely  upon  being  made  a  Major- 
General  on  the  British  establishment,  and  receiving  a  great 
pecuniary  compensation  for  his  services.  General  Putnam 
spurned  at  the  offer  ;  which,  however,  he  thought  prudent  at 
that  time  to  conceal  from  public  notice." 

Similar  overtures  were  made  by  Gage  to  other  veter- 
ans of  the  earlier  war,  among  them  Putnam's  old  com- 
rade, Colonel  John  Stark,  who  was  now  serving  in  the 
patriotic  army,  in  command  of  a  New  Hampshire  regi- 


1775]  A  Bold  Leader  201 

ment.  But  such  efforts  of  the  British  General  to  break 
the  rebellion  were  in  vain.*  Indeed,  the  American 
officers  took  steps  at  once  to  impress  Gage  with  the 
strength  of  their  force  and  also  to  inspire  their  men 
with  confidence.  Putnam,  in  the  afternoon  of  May 
13th,  led  in  person  all  the  troops  at  Cambridge,  except 
those  on  guard,  into  Charlestown  within  reach  of  the 
British  cannon,  both  from  the  men-of-war  and  Boston, 
which  would  have  made  great  havoc  among  the  Ameri- 
cans if  the  enemy  had  opened  fire.  The  line  of  march 
on  this  bold  enterprise  extended  a  mile  and  a  half. 
The  men,  who  numbered  twenty-two  hundred  in  all, 
marched  over  Bunker  Hill  and  also  over  Breed's  Hill. 
They  came  out  by  Captain  Henly's  still-house,  and 
having  entered  the  main  street  at  the  fish-market,  near 
the  old  ferry  where  the  Charles  River  Bridge  was  after- 
wards built,  they  returned  to  Cambridge. 

During  the  latter  part  of  May  several  skirmishes 
took  place,  caused  by  the  endeavour  of  both  parties  to 
secure  the  hay  and  stock  on  the  islands  in  the  harbour. 
At  different  times  the  British  fired  upon  the  Americans 
from  the  shipping.    An  engagement,  in  which  Putnam 


*  An  English  newspaper  of  the  time  mentioned  in  its  columns 
that  Putnam,  in  compliance  with  a  request  of  General  Gage, 
went  into  Boston  for  a  personal  interview  with  him.  This 
statement  was,  however,  soon  afterwards  contradicted,  being 
11  void  of  foundation."  Gage's  premature  confidence  that  he 
would  be  able  to  "  purchase  the  Rebel  Generals  "  misled  Capt. 
John  Montresor,  the  same  who  had  been  with  Putnam  under 
Bradstreet  in  1764,  and  who  was  now  serving  as  engineer  in 
the  British  army.  Montresor  notes  without  warrant  in  his 
journal  that  "  even  Israel  Putnam,  of  Connecticut,  might  have 
been  bought  to  my  certain  knowledge  for  one  dollar  per  day, 
or  8  shillings  New  York  currency." 


202  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

took  active  part,  occurred  May  27th  in  the  vicinity  of 
Chelsea.  A  graphic  description  of  it  was  published 
soon  afterwards  in  Almon's  Remembrancer  for  1775  : 

"A  CIRCUMSTANTIAL  ACCOUNT   OF  A  SKIRMISH  BE- 
TWEEN THE   PROVINCIALS  AND  THE  REGULARS 
AT  CHELSEA,  HOGG  ISLAND,  &c. 

"  On  Saturday  last,  the  27th  of  May,  a  part  of  the  American 
army  at  Cambridge,  to  the  number  of  between  two  and  three 
hundred  men,  had  orders  [from  the  Committee  of  Safety]  to 
drive  off  the  live  stock  from  Hogg  and  Noddle's  Islands  which 
places  lie  near  Chelsea  and  Winnesimit,  on  the  north-east  side 
of  Boston  harbour.  From  Chelsea  to  Hogg  Island  [now  Breed's 
Island]  at  low  water,  it  is  but  about  knee  deep,  and  from  that' 
to  Noddle's  Island  [now  East  Boston]  about  the  same.     .     .     . 

"About  eleven  o'clock,  a.m.,  between  twenty  and  thirty  men 
belonging  to  the  proprietors  of  the  cattle,  were  sent  from  Chel- 
sea to  Hogg  Island,  to  drive  off  the  stock  which  was  there, 
but  were  interrupted  by  a  schooner  and  a  sloop  (dispatched 
from  the  fleet  in  Boston  harbour)  and  about  40  marines,  who 
had  been  stationed  there  to  protect  the  stock.  However,  they 
drove  off  two  fine  English  stallions,  two  colts  and  three  cows, 
killed  fifteen  cows,  burnt  a  large  barn  full  of  salt  hay,  and  an 
old  farm-house.  By  this  time  they  were  fired  on  by  the  schooner 
and  sloop,  and  a  large  number  of  marines  in  boats,  sent  from 
the  several  ships  of  war  ;  upon  which  they  retreated  to  a  ditch 
on  the  marsh,  and  kept  themselves  undiscovered  till  they  had 
an  opportunity  to  fire  on  the  marines,  when  they  shot  two 
dead,  and  wounded  two  more,  one  of  whom  died  soon  after. 
They  then  retreated  to  Hogg  Island,  where  they  were  joined 
by  the  remainder  of  their  party  from  Chelsea,  and  drove  off  all 
the  stock  thereon,  viz.  between  three  and  four  hundred  sheep 
and  lambs,  some  cows,  horses,  &c. 

"During  the  driving  off  the  cattle,  there  were  continual  fir- 
ings between  the  provincials,  and  the  schooner,  sloop,  boats 
and  marines  on  the  other  island. 

"Having  cleared  Hogg  Island,  the  provincials  drew  up  on 
Chelsea  Neck,  and  sent  for  a  reinforcement  of  300  men  [Put- 
nam commanded  this  party,  in  which  Dr.  Warren  served  as  a 


i775]  A  Bold  Leader  203 

volunteer]  and  two  pieces  of  cannon  (four  pounders)  which 
arrived  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  soon  after  which 
General  Putnam  went  down  and  hailed  the  schooner  and  told 
the  people  that  if  they  would  submit  they  should  have  good 
quarters,  which  the  schooner  returned  with  two  cannon  shot ; 
this  was  immediately  answered  with  two  cannon  from  the 
provincials. 

"  Upon  this  a  very  heavy  fire  ensued  from  both  sides,  which 
lasted  until  eleven  at  night,  at  which  time  the  fire  from  the 
schooner  ceased,  the  fire  from  the  shore  being  so  hot  that  her 
people  were  obliged  to  quit  her  and  take  to  the  boats,  a  great 
number  of  which  had  been  sent  from  the  shore  to  their  assist- 
ance, and  also  a  large  reinforcement  of  marines  sent  to  Noddle's 
Island  with  two  twelve  pounders. 

"  The  schooner  being  thus  left  drove  ashore ;  about  the 
break  of  day  the  provincials  carried  some  hay  under  her  stern, 
set  fire  to  it,  and  burnt  her  to  ashes  ;  the  sloop  keeping  up  a 
small  fire  upon  them. 

"  At  this  time  a  heavy  cannonading  began  at  Noddle's  Island 
Hill,  with  the  twelve  pounders  upon  the  Provincials,  and  Gen- 
eral Putnam  kept  up  a  heavy  fire  on  the  sloop,  disabled  her 
much,  and  killed  many  of  her  men  so  that  she  was  obliged  to 
be  towed  off  by  the  boats  when  the  firing  ceased,  excepting  a 
few  shot  which  exchanged  between  the  party  at  Chelsea,  and 
the  marines  on  Noddle's  Island. 

"Thus  ended  this  long  action  without  the  loss  of  one  Pro- 
vincial and  only  four  wounded,  one  of  whom  was  wounded  b>T 
the  bursting  of  his  own  gun,  and  another  only  lost  his  little 
finger. 

"The  loss  of  the  enemy  amounted  to  at  least  twenty  killed 
and  fifty  wounded.  [This  estimate  of  the  loss  of  the  British 
seems  to  be  exaggerated.]  The  Provincials  took  out  of  the 
schooner  four  double  fortified  four  pounders,  twelve  swivels, 
the  chief  of  her  rigging  and  her  sails,  which  the  sailors  and 
marines  left  behind,  with  many  clothes,  some  money,  &c,  they 
having  quitted  her  in  great  haste." 

After  his  all-night  experience  in  discomfiting  the 
enemy,   Putnam  returned  to   Cambridge   on   Sunday 


204  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

morning.  He  was  "  wet  and  covered  to  the  waist  with 
marsh  mud,"  says  Daniel,  "  contracted  by  wading 
over  the  flats  to  burn  the  vessel."  General  Ward  and 
Dr.  Warren  were  already  at  the  Borland  house, 
anxiously  awaiting  the  hero,  in  order  to  learn  the  de- 
tails of  the  affair. 

"  Without  changing  his  dress,"  the  son  continues,  "  he  re- 
lated to  them  the  events  of  the  day,  and  added,  '  I  wish  we 
could  have  something  of  this  kind  to  do  every  day  ;  it  would 
teach  our  men  how  little  danger  there  is  from  cannon  balls, 
for  tho'  they  have  sent  a  great  many  at  us,  nobody  has  been 
hurt  by  them.  I  would  that  Gage  and  his  troops  were  within 
our  reach,  for  we  would  be  like  hornets  about  their  ears  ;  as 
little  birds  follow  and  tease  the  eagle  in  his  flight,  we  would 
every  day  contrive  to  make  them  uneasy.'  Warren  smiled  and 
said  nothing,  but  General  Ward  replied,  '  As  peace  and  recon- 
ciliation is  what  we  seek  for,  would  it  not  be  better  to  act  only 
on  the  defensive  and  give  no  unnecessary  provocation  ? '  Put- 
nam turned  to  Warren  and  said  with  emphasis,  '  You  know, 
Dr.  Warren,  we  shall  have  no  peace  worth  anything,  till  we 
gain  it  by  the  sword.'  Instead  of  any  direct  reply,  Warren 
observed,  '  Your  wet  clothes  must  be  uncomfortable,  General, 
and  we  will  take  our  leave  that  you  may  change  them,' — and 
taking  Putnam's  hand  he  continued,  'I  admire  your  spirit  and 
respect  General  Ward's  prudence,  both  will  be  necessary  for 
us,  and  one  must  temper  the  other.'  " 

The  success  of  the  Noddle's  Island  encounter  gave 
the  "  country  troops,"  as  Ezekiel  Price  stated  in  his 
diary,  "  great  spirits."  The  skirmish  was  magnified 
into  a  battle  and  the  fact  that  not  an  American  had 
been  killed  was  dwelt  upon  with  unbounded  exulta- 
tion. The  jubilation  of  the  Connecticut  people,  on 
hearing  of  the  affair,  found  expression  in  a  saying 
which  was  soon  repeated  throughout  other  colonies, 
that  "  the  British  were  the  Philistines  and  Putnam  the 


1775]  A  Bold  Leader  205 

American  Samson,  a  chosen  instrument  to  defeat  the 
foe."  The  members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  as- 
sembled at  Philadelphia,  received  the  news  of  the  fight 
just  as  they  were  about  to  choose  general  officers,  and 
the  story  of  Putnam's  bravery  aroused  such  enthusiasm 
among  them  that,  in  the  words  of  Roger  Sherman,  one 
of  the  representatives  from  Connecticut  in  the  Congress, 

"his  [Putnam's]  successful  enterprise  at  Noddle's  Island  gave 
him  the  preference  in  the  opinion  of  the  delegates  in  general 
so  that  his  appointment  [on  June  19,  1775,  as  Fourth  Major- 
General  of  the  Continental  Army]  was  unanimous."  * 

The  newspapers  of  the  period  contain  frequent  allu- 
sions to  this  "  warrior"  who  had  shown  "  the  same 
dauntless  courage  with  which  he  entered  the  den  of 
the  wolf."  Here  is  an  acrostic  which  was  received 
with  great  acclaim  : 

11  Pure  mass  of  courage,  every  soldier's  wonder, 
Unto  the  Field  he  steps,  enrobed  with  martial  Thunder, 
Tares  up  the  elements,  and  rends  the  Earth  asunder. 
Nature  designed  him  for  the  Field  of  Battle, 
Unused  to  Statesmen's  wiles  or  courtier's  prattle, 
Mars-like,    his  chief  Delights,    where    thundering    cannon 
rattle." 

In  the  celebrated  satire,  "M'Fingal,"  by  John  Trum- 
bull (born  1750,  died  1831),  which  was  published  in 
1782,  we  find  the  following  lines,  describing  Putnam's 
fearlessness.  The  poet  introduces  his  reference  to  the 
bold  General  by  ridiculing  the  British  Commander 
Gage,  who  has  been  aptly  called  "  the  wind-bag  war- 
rior whose  professional  enterprise  found  its  most 
glorious  vent  in  a  crusade  of  thunderous  proclama- 
tions " : 


*  Letter  to  General  David  Wooster. 


206  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

"  Though  Gage,  whom  proclamations  call 
Your  Gov'ruor  and  Vice  Admiral, 
Whose  power  gubernatorial  still 
Extends  as  far  as  Bunker's  Hill, 
Whose  admiralty  reaches,  clever, 
Near  half  a  mile  up  Mystic  river, 
Whose  naval  force  yet  keeps  the  seas, 
Can  run  away  whene'er  he  'd  please. 
Nay,  stern  with  rage,  grim  Putnam  boiling, 
Plundered  both  Hogg  and  Noddle  Island  ; 
Scared  troops  of  Tories  into  town, 
Burned  all  their  hay  and  houses  down, 
And  menaced  Gage  unless  he  'd  flee, 
To  drive  him  headlong  to  the  sea  ; 
As  once,  to  faithless  Jews  a  sign, 
The  De'el,  turned  hog-reeve,  did  the  swine." 

There  is  another  humorous  reference  to  Putnam  in 
the  same  poem.  The  author  is  satirising  General 
Gage  for  having  violated  his  agreement  with  the  select- 
men of  Boston  by  refusing  the  inhabitants  passes  to 
leave  the  town  : 

"  So  Gage  of  late  agreed  you  know, 
To  let  the  Boston  people  go, 
Yet  when  he  saw,  'gainst  troops  that  braved  him, 
They  were  the  only  guards  that  saved  him, 
Kept  off  that  Satan  of  a  Putnam 
From  breaking  in  to  maul  and  mutt'n  him, 
He  'd  too  much  wit  such  leagues  to  observe, 
And  shut  them  in  again  to  starve." 

Early  in  June  arrangements  were  made  with  General 
Gage  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  some  of  whom  had 
been  taken  in  the  Lexington  and  Concord  battle.  On 
the  day  of  the  transaction,  Putnam  represented  the 
military  and  Dr.  Warren  the  civil  authority  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans.     The  Essex  Gazette  published  im- 


1775] 


A  Bold  Leader  207 


mediately  afterwards  an  entertaining  report  of  what 
took  place  on  this  occasion  when  Putnam  had  the 
pleasure  of  renewing  an  old  friendship  : 

"  Cambridge,  New  England,  June  6,  1775. 

"  This  being  the  day  agreed  on  for  the  exchange  of  Prisoners, 
between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  Doctor  Warren  and  Brigadier 
General  Putnam  in  a  phaeton,  together  with  Major  Dunbar 
and  Lieutenant  Hamilton  of  the  Sixty-Fourth  on  horseback  ; 
Lieutenant  Potter  of  the  Marines  in  a  chaise ;  John  Hilton  of 
the  Forty-Seventh,  Alexander  Campbell  of  the  Fourth,  John 
Tyne,  Samuel  Marcy,  Thomas  Parry,  and  Thomas  Sharp  of  the 
Marines,  wounded  men,  in  two  carts, — the  whole  escorted  by 
the  Weathersfield  Company  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Chester, — entered  the  Town  of  Charlestown,  and  marching 
slowly  through  it  halted  at  the  ferry  where,  upon  a  signal  being 
given,  Major  Moncrief  landed  from  the  Lively,  in  order  to  re- 
ceive the  prisoners  and  see  his  old  friend,  General  Putnam. 
Their  meeting  was  truly  cordial  and  affectionate." 

Major  John  Brooks,  afterwards  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, who  witnessed  this  reunion,  used  to  tell  how 
these  two  friends,  former  companions-in-arms  in  the 
Havana  campaign,  "  ran  into  each  other's  arms  and 
kissed  each  other  to  the  great  diversion  and  astonish- 
ment of  the  country  people  of  the  army." 

But  to  continue  the  contemporaneous  newspaper 
account  of  the  exchange  of  prisoners  : 

"  The  wounded  privates  were  soon  sent  on  board  the  Lively, 
but  Major  Moncrief  and  the  other  officers  returned  with  General 
Putnam  and  Doctor  Warren  to  the  house  of  Doctor  Foster, 
where  an  entertainment  was  provided  for  them. 

"About  three  o'clock  a  signal  was  made  by  the  Lively  that 
they  were  ready  to  deliver  up  our  prisoners  ;  upon  which,  Gen- 
eral Putnam  and  Major  Moncrief  went  to  the  ferry,  where  they 
received  Messrs.  John  Peck,  James  Hewes,  James  Brewer,  and 


208  Israel  Putnam  [n75 

Daniel  Preston,  of  Boston  ;  Messrs.  Samuel  Frost  and  Seth 
Russell,  of  Cambridge  ;  Mr.  Joseph  Bell,  of  Dan  vers  ;  Mr.  Elijah 
Seaver,  of  Roxbury,  and  Caesar  Augustus,  a  negro  servant  to 
Mr.  Tileston,  of  Dorchester,  who  were  conducted  to  the  house 
of  Captain  Foster,  and  there  refreshed  ;  after  which,  the  General 
and  Major  returned  to  their  company,  and  spent  an  hour  or 
two  in  a  very  agreeable  manner.  Between  five  and  six  o'clock, 
Major  Moncrief,  with  the  officers  that  had  been  delivered  up 
to  him,  were  conducted  to  the  ferry,  where  the  Lively" s  barge 
received  them.  After  which,  General  Putnam,  with  the  prison- 
ers that  had  been  delivered  to  him,  &c,  returned  to  Cambridge, 
escorted  in  the  same  manner  as  before." 

Putnam  returned  to  his  quarters  in  high  spirits. 

"He  said  he  had  met  again  some  of  his  old  friends,"  writes 
Daniel,  "  but  he  appeared  most  gratified  that  Gage  should  have 
consented  to  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  '  He  may  call  us 
Rebels  now,  if  he  will,  but  why  then  don't  he  hang  his  prison- 
ers instead  of  exchanging  them  ?  By  this  act  he  has  virtually 
placed  us  on  an  equality,  and  acknowledged  our  right  of 
resistance.'  " 

Daniel  adds  other  reminiscences  of  his  father  who, 
eager  as  ever  that  fortifications  should  be  built  nearer 
Boston,  had  looked  at  the  Charlestown  Heights  with 
great  interest  when  passing  by  them  for  the  exchange 
of  prisoners. 

"  Next  day  [June  7th]  there  was  quite  a  levee  of  officers  at 
Putnam's  quarters  to  talk  about  the  exchange.  He  related  to 
them  all  the  particulars,  and  turning  to  Col.  Prescott,  said, 
'  Colonel,  I  saw  ground  yesterday  that  may  suit  your  purpose. 
I  suppose  you  have  not  forgotten  your  remark  of  the  other 
day  about  digging  ;  but  more  of  this  another  time.' 

"  Prescott  called  in  the  evening  and  they  walked  out  to- 
gether ;  for  several  succeeding  days  he  was  at  Putnam's  quarters, 
and  they  were  in  private  conversation." 


1775]  A  Bold  Leader  209 

About  June  ioth  Putnam  determined  to  test  the 
courage  of  his  men  by  leading  them  again  into  Charles- 
town.  All  the  troops  at  Cambridge  were  accordingly 
ordered  "  to  parade  on  the  Common,  armed  and  ac- 
coutred." The  lad  Daniel  took  his  place  in  the  ranks 
as  a  volunteer. 

"I  felt  proud,"  says  this  true  sou  of  a  brave  sire,  "to  be 
numbered  among  what  I  then  thought  to  be  a  mighty  host 
destined  for  some  great  enterprise.  We  were  marched  to 
Charlestown,  and  I  supposed  it  was  intended  to  '  take  Boston,' 
but  after  parading  about  on  the  high  grounds  awhile,  we  all 
returned  in  safety  to  our  quarters  at  Cambridge." 

For  several  days  after  this  second  march  into  Charles- 
town,  Putnam  "  appeared  thoughtful  and  absent  in  his 
mind,"  as  if  planning  some  warlike  expedition  which 
he  had  resolved  to  undertake.  His  personal  eccentrici- 
ties became  very  marked,  as  Daniel  tells  us  : 

"In  such  seasons  of  abstraction  he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving 
an  indistinct  kind  of  utterance  to  his  thoughts,  or  what  may  be 
termed  'talking  to  one's  self,'  and  broken  sentences  such  as 
follow  escaped  his  lips, — 'We  must  go  there,' — 'Think  they 
will  come  out,' — 'Yes,  yes,  they  must,' — 'I'll  go  with  my 
regiment  anyhow,' — '  We  must  go  in  the  night,' — '  We  '11  carry 
our  tools  and  have  a  trench  before  morning,' — 'He  's  a  good 
fellow,' — 'He  wants  to  go,' — 'Says  he  will  go,  if  they '11  let 
him,' — 'Lay  still,— lay  still,  I  say,  till  they  come  close,' — 
'They  won't  hurt  you,' — '  I  know  'em  of  old,  they  fire  without 
aim,' — these  and  such  like  burstings  of  his  mind  continued 
several  days,  not  in  a  regular  chain  as  I  have  set  them  down, 
but  breaking  forth  occasionally,  and  often  accompanied  with 
some  significant  gesture,  which  left  no  doubt  but  he  was  con- 
templating some  important  military  operation.  To  me  it  was 
almost  certain  for  I  had  all  my  life  been  accustomed  to  such 
sallies,  but  more  especially  after  the  alarm  [of  September,  1774] 
up  to  the  affair  at  Lexington,  he  had  almost  daily  such  like 
communings  with  himself." 


210  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

Putnam's  abstraction  at  Cambridge,  which  the  boy 
noticed,  had  been  very  apparent  since  a  session  of  the 
Council  of  War  at  which  the  report  of  a  committee, 
advising  the  construction  of  additional  fortifications, 
had  been  warmly  discussed.  It  was  decided  to  accept 
the  part  of  the  report  which  recommended  the  building 
of  a  breastwork  near  the  Red  House,  another  opposite, 
on  the  side  of  Prospect  Hill,  and  a  redoubt  on  the  top 
of  Winter  Hill,  but  there  was  much  difference  of 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  expediency  of  a  redoubt  on 
Bunker  Hill,  which  the  committee  had  also  recom- 
mended. Colonel  Prescott,  Colonel  Palmer,  and  other 
officers  agreed  with  Putnam  in  strongly  favouring  this 
last  advanced  position,  but  General  Ward  and  Dr. 
Warren  opposed  it,  arguing  that  "  as  we  had  no 
powder  to  spare  and  no  battering  cannon,  it  would  be 
idle  to  make  approaches  on  the  town." 

Daniel  Putnam,  in  reporting  the  "  spirited  conversa- 
tion," tells  how  his  father  replied  to  the  objectors  and 
what  an  effect  his  dauntless  spirit  had  on  at  least  one 
member  of  the  council  : 

"He  [Putnam]  told  them  they  had  entirely  mistaken  his 
views,  that  it  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  battering  the  town, 
but  to  draw  the  enemy  from  it,  where  we  might  meet  them  on 
equal  terms,  and  that  Charlestown  and  Dorchester  were  the 
only  points  where  this  could  be  done,  that  the  army  wished  to 
be  employed  and  the  country  was  growing  dissatisfied  at  the 
inactivity  of  it. 

"  It  was  objected  again  that  it  might  bring  on  a  general 
battle  and  that  in  our  position  it  was  neither  politic  or  safe  to 
risk  one. 

"  He  replied,  '  2,000  men  will  be  enough  to  risk,  and  with 
that  number  we  will  go  on  and  defend  ourselves  as  long  and 
as  well  as  we  can  and  then  give  the  ground.' 

"'But  suppose  your  retreat  should  be  intercepted?'   'We 


STATUE  OF  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

J.  Q.  A.  WARD,  SCULPTOR. 


1775] 


A  Bold  Leader  211 


will  guard  against  that,  and  run  when  we  can  contend  no 
longer  with  advantage  ;  we  can  outrun  them,  and  behind  every 
wall  rally  and  oppose  their  progress  till  we  join  our  friends 
again.  But  suppose  the  worst,  suppose  us  hemmed  in  and  no 
retreat ;  we  know  what  we  are  contending  for  ;  we  will  set  our 
country  an  example  of  which  it  shall  not  be  ashamed,  and 
show  those  who  seek  to  oppress  us  what  men  can  do  who  are 
determined  to  Wxefree  or  not  live  at  all ! ' 

"Warren,  he  [Putnam]  said,  rose  and  walked  several  times 
across  the  room,  leaned  a  few  moments  over  the  back  of  a 
chair  in  a  thoughtful  attitude  and  said,  '  Almost  thou  per- 
suadest  me,  General  Putnam,  but  I  must  still  think  the  project 
a  rash  one.  Nevertheless,  if  it  should  ever  be  adopted  and  the 
strife  becomes  hard,  you  must  not  be  surprised  to  find  me  with 
you  in  the  midst  of  it.' 

" ' I  hope  not,  Sir,'  said  Putnam,  'you  are  yet  but  a  young 
man,  and  our  country  has  much  to  hope  from  you  both  in 
council  and  in  war.  It  is  only  a  little  brush  we  have  been 
contemplating  ;  let  some  of  us  who  are  older  and  can  well 
enough  be  spared  begin  the  fray  ;  there  will  be  time  enough 
for  you  hereafter,  for  it  will  not  soon  be  ended.'  " 

Young  Thomas  Knowlton  —  Putnam's  "  favourite 
officer," — who  was  captain  of  the  5th  Company  in 
the  Connecticut  regiment  at  Cambridge,  was  among 
those  who 

"  wholly  disapproved  of  the  project,  insisting  that  it  would 
probably  prove  fatal  to  the  American  troops  engaged  in  it,  for 
the  British  by  landing  at  Charlestown  Neck  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  floating  batteries  and  ships  of  war  could  cut  off 
from  the  hill  all  supplies  of  provisions  and  ammunition,  be- 
sides rendering  retreat  extremely  hazardous  if  not  impossible." 

Knowlton,  like  Warren,  was,  however,  so  impressed 
by  Putnam's  fearless  patriotism,  that  he  expressed  a 
hearty  willingness  to  do  his  part  in  case  the  Bunker 
Hill  plan  were  adopted.  "  I  shall  accompany  you  with 
my  men  and  exert  myself  to  the  utmost, ' '  he  was  heard 


212  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

to  remark  to  Putnam  when  the  latter  came  to  his  quar- 
ters for  a  private  interview  on  the  subject.* 

The  question  of  fortifying  Bunker  Hill  was  brought 
up  at  another  session  of  the  Council  of  War,  and  again 
Putnam,  according  to  Colonel  Swett,  "  advanced  his 
favourite  maxim,  '  the  Americans  are  not  at  all  afraid 
of  their  heads  though  very  much  afraid  of  their  legs  ; 
if  you  cover  these,  they  will  fight  forever.'  " 

The  matter  was  soon  decided,  for  affairs  had  reached 
a  crisis.  The  British  force  in  Boston  had  been  in- 
creased by  the  recent  arrival  of  Generals  William 
Howe,  Henry  Clinton,  and  John  Burgoyne,  with  re- 
inforcements ;  and  authentic  information  had  been 
brought  to  the  Americans  that  General  Gage  intended 
to  take  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights  on  the  night 
of  June  1 8th.  The  patriotic  officers  now  saw  but  one 
way  to  anticipate  the  hostile  movement,  and  that  was 
by  occupying  the  Charlestown  Heights  without  delay. 
Therefore,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  they  took  steps  at  once  that 
"  possession  of  Bunker's  Hill  be  securely  kept  and 
defended." 

At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  important  meas- 
ure, the  main  body  of  the  American  forces  was  at 
Cambridge,  where  General  Ward  had  established  his 
headquarters.  It  numbered  between  seven  and  eight 
thousand  men, —  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  army 
around  Boston, — and  included  fifteen  Massachusetts 
regiments,  a  battalion  of  artillery,  and  Putnam's  own 
regiment,  with  other  Connecticut  troops.  Most  of  the 
Connecticut  men,  belonging  to  this  centre  division  of 
the  besieging  army,  were  stationed  at  Inman's  farm. 

*  Col.  Thomas  Knowlton  by  Ashbel  Woodward  in  the  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol.  xv. 


775] 


A  Bold  Leader  213 


The  Tory  owner  of  this  estate,  Ralph  Inman,  a  mer- 
chant, was  at  the  time  a  refugee  in  Boston.  His  wife, 
who  with  her  nieces  had  remained  behind  at  the  home- 
stead, became  greatly  alarmed  at  the  presence  of  the 
"  rebel  troops"  on  the  farm  and  applied  to  Putnam 
for  protection  against  any  depredations  by  them. 
Extra  guards  were  accordingly  posted  near  the  dwell- 
ing, and  in  order  to  relieve  Mrs.  Inman  further  of 
needless  anxiety,  the  General  arranged  that  his  son 
should  become  a  member  of  her  household. 

"By  direction  of  my  father,"  says  Daniel,  "from  about  the 
middle  of  May,  I  lodged  every  night  in  her  house  "  ;  and  he 
adds,  with  pardonable  pride,  "Young  as  I  was,  the  family  con- 
fided much  in  the  protection  afforded  by  General  Putnam's 
son." 

After  returning  as  usual  in  the  morning  from  the 
Inman  home  to  the  Borland  house  near  the  college 
buildings,  the  lad  was  quick  to  observe,  on  the  day 
preceding  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  that  preparations 
were  being  made  for  a  military  enterprise  of  import- 
ance. His  greatest  interest  centred  in  the  fact  that 
his  father  was  evidently  to  take  a  leading  part  in  it. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE   BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HIIJ, 


1775 

HEN  orders  were  issued  on  Friday,  June 
16,  1775,  for  a  detachment  to  parade  on 
Cambridge  Common  at  six  o'clock  that 
evening,  the  men  were  not  informed  in 
regard  to  the  object  of  the  expedition, 
but   they  were  told  to  furnish  them- 
selves with  all  the  intrenching  tools  in  the  camp,  with 
provisions  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  with  packs  and 
blankets. 


"I  noticed  an  unusual  stir  among  the  troops  at  Cambridge," 
writes  Daniel  Putnam  in  recalling  the  events  of  that  day. 
"  Putnam's  regiment  was  under  arms,  and  I  was  informed  by 
the  Adjutant  that  a  detachment  had  been  made  from  it  for 
1  secret  service '  ;  but  what  at  the  time  impressed  my  mind 
most  strongly  was  the  preparation  my  father  himself  was  mak- 
ing. With  his  own  hands  he  prepared  cartridges  for  his  pistols, 
took  out  the  old  flints  and  put  in  the  new.  While  he  was  doing 
this,  Col.  Prescott  came  in  and  observing  what  he  was  about, 
said  in  a  low  tone,  '  I  see,  General,  you  are  making  preparation 
and  we  shall  be  ready  at  the  time.'  " 

There  had  been  an  "  understanding"  between  the 
Connecticut  hero  and  the  brave  Pepperell  officer  that 

214 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        215 

the  latter  should  have  part  in  the  expedition  if  it 
should  ever  be  undertaken.  "  General  Ward  was  ap- 
prised of  this,"  Daniel  reports  what  he  heard  his  father 
state  in  after  years  in  regard  to  the  promise,  "  and 
Prescott  with  all  his  regiment  was  .ordered  on  that 
service." 

Besides  Prescott's  regiment,  two  other  Massachusetts 
regiments  —  Colonel  Kbenezer  Bridge's  and  Colonel 
James  Frye's — were  ordered  to  parade,  but,  according 
to  Putnam's  statement,  "  it  was  found  that  intrenching 
tools  could  not  be  had  for  more  than  about  1,000  men." 
So  a  detachment,  equal  to  that  number  only,  was  made 
up  of  details  from  the  three  Massachusetts  regiments. 
This  force  was  to  be  accompanied  by  Captain  Samuel 
Gridley's  artillery  company  with  two  field-pieces.  In 
compliance  with  the  urgent  request  of  Putnam,  two 
hundred  Connecticut  men  under  Captain  Thomas 
Knowlton  were  also  ordered  to  march. 

The  whole  working-force  was  put  in  charge  of  Colonel 
Prescott.  The  veteran  Colonel  Richard  Gridley,  the 
chief  engineer,  was  to  mark  out  the  line  of  the  proposed 
fortification  on  Bunker  Hill.  Owing  to  the  peculiarly 
loose  organisation  of  the  American  army  around  Boston 
and  lack  of  system  in  the  camp,  no  specific  directions 
in  regard  to  the  general  command  on  the  Charlestown 
peninsula,  in  case  of  an  engagement  there  with  the 
enemy,  were  issued  by  General  Ward  ;  his  orders  to 
Prescott  related  only  to  the  special  duty  of  building 
and  defending  the  redoubt  itself.  Patriotic  interests 
however,  outweighed  military  technicalities.  Putnam 
was  preparing  to  go  on  the  field  to  exercise  by  virtue 
of  his  rank  such  authority  as  the  pressing  emergency 
might  demand.  That  he  had  been  identified  with  the 
warlike  project  as  its  moving  spirit  from  the  time  it  was 


216  Israel  Putnam 


[1775 


first  suggested  at  a  council  of  general  officers,  and  that 
he  was  now  strenuously  solicitous  for  its  success,  were 
of  themselves  sufficient  reasons  for  his  assuming  in  this 
crisis  certain  rights  of  leadership  in  the  execution  of 
the  enterprise. 

Daniel  describes  with  touching  simplicity  the  parting 
from  his  father  on  the  eve  of  the  memorable  battle  : 

"A  little  after  sunset  my  father  called  me  aside  and  said, 
'  You  will  go  to  Mrs.  Inman's  as  usual  to-night,  and  it  is  time 
you  were  gone.  You  need  not  return  here  in  the  morning,  but 
stay  there  to-morrow  ;  the  family  may  want  you  and  if  they 
find  it  necessary  to  leave  the  house,  you  must  go  with  them 
where  they  go  ;  and  try  now,  my  son,  to  be  as  serviceable  to 
them  as  you  can.' 

"This  order,  connected  with  what  I  had  seen  during  the  day, 
left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  some  military  movement  was 
going  forward  in  which  my  father  was  to  participate.  I  called 
to  mind  his  abstraction  and  self-communing,  the  broken  sen- 
tences that  had  escaped  him,  indicating  battle  and  bloodshed- 
ding,  and  my  imagination  pictured  him  as  mangled  with  wounds 
and  none  to  help  him.  With  earnest  entreaty  I  asked  leave  to 
accompany  him.  'You,  dear  father,'  I  said,  'may  need  my 
assistance  much  more  than  Mrs.  Inman  ;  pray  let  me  go  where 
you  are  going.' — 'No,  no,  Daniel,  do  as  I  have  bid  you,'  was 
the  answer  which  he  affected  to  give  sternly,  while  his  voice 
trembled  and  his  eyes  filled.  Then,  as  if  perfectly  compre- 
hending what  had  been  passing  in  my  mind,  he  added,  '  You 
can  do  little,  my  son,  where  I  am  going,  and  besides,  there  will 
be  enough  to  take  care  of  me.' 

"  I  went  as  directed  to  Mrs.  Inman's,  but  took  no  interest  in 
the  conversation  of  her  nieces  or  the  maternal  kindness  of  their 
aunt ;  my  mind  was  elsewhere  and  I  retired  early  to  bed,  but 
not  to  sleep  ;  the  night  was  as  sleepless  to  me  as  to  those  who 
were  toiling  or  watching  on  the  confines  of  Boston.  I  had  a 
strong  suspicion  that  Charlestown  was  the  spot  to  which  the 
hostile  movement  was  directed  ;  and  long  before  the  first  gun 
was  fired  I  had  risen  and  seated  myself  at  the  window  of  my 
chamber,  anxiously  looking  thitherward," 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        217 

Meanwhile  the  troops,  chosen  for  the  military  under- 
taking which  had  excited  the  boy's  solicitous  wonder- 
ing had  paraded  on  Cambridge  Common,  and  after 
prayer  by  President  Samuel  Langdon  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, had  set  out  about  nine  o'clock  on  their  mysterious 
march.  At  their  head  was  Colonel  Prescott,  who  was 
preceded  a  few  paces  by  two  sergeants  carrying  dark 
lanterns.  The  waggons,  laden  with  intrenching  tools, 
brought  up  the  rear  of  the  column.  Putnam  on  horse- 
back had  ridden  in  advance  to  Charlestown  Neck, 
where  he  awaited  the  detachment.  Soon  through  the 
darkness  he  descried  the  forms  of  Prescott  and  the  men, 
approaching  with  silent  tread.  "  We  were  halted  at 
the  Neck  by  General  Putnam,"  testifies  Josiah  Cleve- 
land, a  Connecticut  private,  "  and  ordered  to  load  with 
two  balls."  The  object  of  the  expedition,  hitherto 
kept  secret,  was  now  explained  by  the  officers  to  the" 
soldiers,  and  after  a  small  party  had  been  detached  to 
guard  the  lower  part  of  Charlestown  the  main  body  of 
troops  advanced  over  Bunker  Hill, — the  round  smooth 
hill,  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  high,  which  sloped  on 
their  right  towards  the  Charles  River  and  on  their  left 
towards  the  Mystic  River.  "  We  marched  in  profound 
silence,"  says  Cleveland,  "  General  Putnam  at  our 
head." 

On  a  ridge  of  ground,  on  the  south,  which  connected 
Bunker  Hill  with  another  height,  Breed's  Hill,  seventy- 
five  feet  high,  the  troops  halted  again.  A  long  discus- 
sion, in  which  Putnam  took  part,  ensued  as  to  just  what 
place  should  be  fortified.  Samuel  Gray,  a  contempor- 
ary, says  that 

"the  engineer  [Colonel  Richard  Gridley]  and  two  generals 
[General  Putnam  and  probably  General  John  Whitcomb]  went 
on  to  the  hill  at  night,  and  reconnoitred  the  ground  ;  that  one 


218  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

general  and  the  engineer  were  of  the  opinion  we  ought  not  to 
intrench  on  Charlestown  Hill  (Breed's  Hill)  till  we  had  thrown 
up  some  works  on  the  north  and  south  ends  of  Bunker  Hill, 
to  cover  our  men  in  their  retreat  if  that  should  happen  ;  but  on 
the  pressing  importunity  of  the  other  general  officer  it  was 
consented  to  begin  as  was  done."  * 

In  deciding  thus  to  proceed  to  Breed's  Hill,  the  emi- 
nence nearest  Boston,  the  officers  agreed  that  works 
should  be  begun  as  soon  as  possible  on  Bunker  Hill, 
for  the  order  was  explicit  as  to  fortifying  the  latter 
position. 

It  was  nearly  midnight.  Time  was  precious,  for  only 
four  hours  remained  before  dawn.  Engineer  Gridley 
hastily  marked  out  the  plan  for  a  fortification  on  the 
hill  farthest  to  the  front.  Noiselessly  the  pickaxes 
and  shovels  were  unloaded  from  the  carts  and  dis- 
tributed. The  men  unslnng  their  packs,  stacked  their 
arms,  and  vigorously  set  to  work  raising  the  defences 
which  on  the  morrow  would  challenge  and  astonish  the 
enemy.  British  men-of-war  and  floating  batteries  lay 
anchored  along  the  water-front,  all  within  gun-shot, 
but  neither  the  sailors  on  board  of  them  nor  the 
sentinels  pacing  up  and  down  the  Boston  shore,  sus- 
pected that  in  the  silent  watches  of  that  summer  night 
more  than  a  thousand  "  rebels  "  were  throwing  up  in- 
trenchments  on  the  hilltop  not  far  away.  While  the 
labourers  were  thus  busily  employed,  Putnam  himself 
returned  to  Cambridge,  not  only  to  secure  "  refresh- 
ments and  a  reinforcement  or  relief  for  those  who  were 
expected  to  toil  all  the  night,"  but  also  that  he  might 
be  "  mounted  afresh,"  for  "  his  gait,"  Colonel  Samuel 


*  Letter  by  Samuel  Gray  to  Mr.  Dyer,  dated  Roxbury,  Mass. 
July  12,  1775. 


GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

FROM   THE  PAINTING  BY  ALONZO  CHAPPEL. 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        219 

Swett  tells  us,  was  "  expeditious  even  in  ordinary 
riding,  and  his  horse  required  to  be  relieved."  * 

The  short  June  night  was  soon  ended.  Immediately 
after  discovering  at  daybreak  the  American  intrench- 
ments,  the  captain  of  the  British  warship  Lively  opened 
fire  on  them  and  soon  the  batteries  on  the  other  men- 
of-war  and  on  Copp's  Hill  in  Boston  joined  in  the 
bombardment.  The  patriots,  despite  the  cannonade, 
continued  steadily  at  the  task  of  strengthening  their 
defences.  The  boom  of  guns,  which  so  alarmed  the 
Boston  people  that  they  rushed  out  to  see  what  had 
happened,  fell  also  on  the  ears  of  the  soldiers  in  camp 
at  Cambridge. 

When  Putnam  heard  at  daybreak  the  firing  of  the 
Lively,  he  ordered  "  Lieutenant  Clark  to  send  to  Gen- 
eral Ward  for  a  horse  ' '  for  him  to  ride  to  the  Charles- 
town  Heights. 

"  The  Lieutenant  went  himself,"  relates  Colonel  Swett,  "but 
the  General's  impatience  could  not  await  an  answer.  On  his 
[Clark's]  return  he  found  him  mounted  and  departing.  The 
summons  from  the  Lively  had  frustrated  his  [Putnam's]  inten- 
tion of  carrying  on  the  reinforcement  himself;  he  reminded 
General  Ward,  however,  that  the  fate  of  his  expedition  de- 
pended on  his  being  reinforced  immediately,  according  to  the 
preconcerted  plan,  and  flew  to  join  his  men  on  the  hill." 


*  Colonel  vSwett  wrote  in  1818,  an  Historical  and  Topograph- 
ical Sketch  of  Bunker  Hill  Battle,  as  an  Appendix  to  a  new 
edition  of  Humphreys's  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Israel  Putnam. 
In  1825,  Swett  revised  and  enlarged  his  text  and  published  it 
separately  as  a  History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  The 
second  and  third  editions  of  this  latter  work  contain,  in  the 
Notes,  important  depositions  which  he  obtained  from  surviv- 
ing soldiers  present,  June  17,  1825,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Bunker  Hill  monument.  These  reminiscences  of 
the  veterans  throw  much  light  on  Putnam's  part  in  the  battle. 


220  Israel  Putnam  [1775 

Galloping  back  in  hot  haste  to  Charlestown,  Putnam 
must  have  seen,  as  he  neared  the  unfinished  redoubt,  the 
tall  figure  of  Prescott  outlined  in  full  view  against  the 
gray  sky  of  early  day,  walking  leisurely  backwards  and 
forwards  on  the  parapet.  The  dauntless  colonel,  ex- 
posed to  the  enemy's  guns,  was  encouraging  the  men  at 
their  task,  and  by  his  own  fearlessness  inspiring  them 
with  confidence.  It  was  very  apparent,  however,  that 
after  the  exhausting  labour  of  the  night,  the  troops 
needed  to  be  relieved  as  soon  as  possible.  The  sun  rose 
red,  the  air  was  oppressive,  and  there  was  every  sign  that 
the  weather  would  become  intensely  hot.  Putnam,  on 
finding  that  there  was  much  suffering  among  the  men 
from  want  of  food  and  drink,  as  well  as  from  heat  and 
fatigue,  determined  to  return  again  to  Cambridge  to 
urge  General  Ward,  who  had  hesitated  about  weaken- 
ing further  the  main  army  until  the  enemy's  plans  of 
attack  were  more  definitely  known,  to  forward  pro- 
visions and  reinforcements  without  delay.  "  I  saw 
Putnam  and  Prescott  in  conversation,"  states  Thomp- 
son Maxwell,  who  was  one  of  the  patriot  diggers  at 
that  early  hour  in  the  redoubt;  ''immediately  after, 
Put  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  full  speed  towards 
Cambridge."  "  General  Putnam,"  says  Henry  Bur- 
beck,  another  soldier,  in  his  reminiscences  of  the  sultry 
morning,  "  rode  between  Charlestown  and  Cambridge 
without  a  coat,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  and  an  old  white 
felt  hat  on,  to  report  to  General  Ward,  and  to  consult 
upon  further  operations." 

Putnam  was  delayed  at  Cambridge  by  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  more  soldiers.  Ward,  in  fear  that  the 
British  would  make  the  principal  attack  at  Cambridge, 
was  doubtful  of  the  expediency  of  reducing  the  force 
stationed  there  and  in  the  vicinity.     On  yielding  finally 


i775]       The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        221 

to  Putnam's  importunity,  he  ordered  one-third  of  Colo- 
nel John  Stark's  New  Hampshire  regiment  to  march  to 
Charlestown.  After  this  concession  by  Ward,  Putnam 
attended  to  the  supply  of  ammunition,  the  scarcity  of 
which  was  a  source  of  grave  apprehension  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  of  Safety  who  were  assembled  in 
the  Hastings  house  on  Cambridge  Common.  Eighteen 
barrels  of  powder  had  recently  reached  him  from  Con- 
necticut, and  these  he  now  sent  to  them  for  such 
disposal  as  they  might  authorise.  The  necessary  pre- 
parations in  anticipation  of  the  attack  which  Putnam 
believed  the  British  would  make  in  front  of  Breed's 
Hill  occupied  so  much  of  his  time  at  Cambridge,  that 
it  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  before  he  was  able  to  start 
back  for  Charlestown.  On  his  way  thither,  he  met 
Major  Brooks,  whom  Prescott  had  dispatched  for  troops 
from  General  Ward.  Putnam,  spurring  his  horse  for- 
ward towards  the  heights,  presently  came  within  range 
of  several  floating  batteries  which  were  playing  on  the 
American  works.  He  was  heartily  welcomed  at  the 
iutrenchments  ;  and,  riding  along  the  lines,  he  told 
the  anxious  soldiers  of  General  Ward's  promise  to  send 
refreshments  and  reinforcements.  Most  of  the  men 
had  ceased  labour,  for  the  redoubt,  eight  rods  square, 
with  a  breastwork  extending  one  hundred  yards  on  a 
line  with  its  eastern  side,  was  now  substantially 
finished.  During  the  morning,  a  private  had  been 
killed  by  a  cannon-ball,  but  otherwise  the  British  guns 
had  done  little  damage. 

No  sooner  did  Putnam  see  the  pickaxes  and  spades, 
which  were  piled  in  the  rear  of  the  redoubt,  than  he 
determined  to  begin  the  erection  of  works  on  Bunker 
Hill,  in  order  that  the  troops  might  have  a  "  second 
rally ing-point  "  in  case  they  were  "  ultimately  driven 


222  Israel  Putnam 


[1775 


from  the  first  position."  He  accordingly  told  Colonel 
Prescott  "  that  the  intrenching  tools  must  be  sent  off." 
Prescott,  however,  remonstrated,  fearing  that  if  any  of 
the  men  began  to  intrench  on  the  other  hill  they  would 
not  have  the  courage  to  return  to  the  front  at  the  time 
of  an  attack.  "They  shall  every  man  return,"  was 
Putnam's  reply.*  And  the  General  did  not  wholly 
misjudge  the  fidelity  and  daring  of  the  labourers,  who 
did  go  to  Bunker  Hill,  for  later  in  the  day  some  of 
them  fought  well  at  the  rail-fence  and  others  of  them 
went  back  to  the  redoubt.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock 
when  the  tools  were  removed  from  Breed's  Hill. 

"Putnam,"  relates  Captain  Ebenezer  Bancroft,  "rode  up  to  us 
at  the  fort,  and  says,  '  My  lads,  these  tools  must  be  carried 
back,'  and  turned  and  rode  away.  An  order  was  never  obeyed 
with  more  readiness.  From  every  part  of  the  line  volunteers 
ran,  and  some  picked  up  one,  some  two  shovels,  mattocks,  &c, 
and  hurried  over  the  hill." 

So  energetic  was  Putnam  in  his  efforts  to  fortify  the 
second  eminence  that  he  narrowly  escaped  several  times 
from  cannon-balls.  "  I  expected  to  see  him  knocked 
off,"  narrates  Joseph  Pearce,  who  watched  him  ride 
fearlessly  from  point  to  point.  Although  the  General 
succeeded  in  setting  men  to  work  on  Bunker  Hill, 
there  was  little  time  left  for  throwing  up  the  additional 
defences.  At  noonday  the  Glascow  frigate  and  Sym- 
metry transport  were  raking  Charlestown  Neck.  The 
Somerset  man-of-war  and  two  floating  batteries  at  the 
ferry  and  the  battery  on  Copp's  Hill  were  pouring  a 
heavy  fire  on  the  redoubt,  while  the  Falcon  and  Lively, 
armed  vessels,  swept  the  low  grounds  in  front  of  Breed's 


*  Memoirs  of  Major- General  William  Heath,  1798. 


1775]       The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        223 

Hill.  Under  cover  of  the  furious  cannonade,  barges 
filled  with  scarlet-uniformed  troops  steered  towards 
Charlestown.  Soon  the  British  were  seen  landing  in 
good  order  at  Moulton's  Point  on  the  south-east  corner 
of  the  peninsula.  Putnam  started  immediately  for 
Cambridge  to  secure  aid  against  the  impending  attack. 
Since  his  last  trip  there,  the  Committee  of  Safety  had 
prevailed  upon  General  Ward  to  forward  the  whole 
of  the  regiments  of  Colonels  Stark  and  Reed  of  New 
Hampshire,  but  these  troops  had  not  yet  reached  the 
Heights. 

The  news  of  the  landing  of  the  enemy  was  received 
with  great  excitement  in  Cambridge.  General  Ward 
ordered  a  large  part  of  the  Massachusetts  forces  to 
march  at  once  to  Charlestown.  Putnam's  eldest  son, 
Israel,  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  hurrying  on  the 
Connecticut  men  in  accordance  with  his  father's  direc- 
tions. 

When  Putnam  returned  to  Charlestown,  having 
passed  a  "  galling  enfilading  fire  of  round,  bar  and 
chain  shot,  which  thundered  across  the  Neck,"  he 
found  that  Knowlton's  two  hundred  Connecticut  men 
of  the  original  detachment  and  Gridley's  artillery  com- 
pany were  just  leaving  the  redoubt.  They  had  been 
sent  out  to  oppose  the  enemy's  right  wing,  for  Prescott 
judged  that  the  British  were  planning  to  surround  the 
works.  Putnam's  quick  glance  had  already  detected 
the  probability  of  a  flank  movement  by  the  hostile 
troops.  Riding  up  to  Knowlton  and  his  men  as  they 
marched  down  from  Breed's  Hill,  the  General  pointed 
to  a  position  about  two  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of 
the  redoubt  and  ordered  them  to  follow  him.  He  led 
them  in  haste  to  a  fence  of  posts  and  rails,  set  in  a  low 
stone  wall,  extending  for  about  three  hundred  yards  or 


224  Israel  Putnam  to?* 

more  towards  the  Mystic  River.  At  this  fence,  where, 
in  the  words  of  a  soldier,  "  nature  had  formed  some- 
thing of  a  breastwork,  or  else  there  had  been  a  ditch 
many  years  agone,"  the  Connecticut  detachment 
"  grounded  arms  and  went  to  a  neighbouring  parallel 
fence,"  which  was  also  "  half  of  stone  and  two  rails  of 
wood  "  and  "  brought  rails  and  made  a  slight  fortifica- 
tion against  musket-ball."  Freshly  mown  hay,  which 
lay  in  the  adjacent  field,  was  hastily  gathered  and  piled 
between  the  rails,  giving  the  appearance  of  shelter. 
The  artillery  company  made  ready  to  guard  with  its 
two  field-pieces  the  exposed  position  between  the  rail- 
fence  and  the  earth  breastwork  on  Breed's  Hill. 

And  now  Putnam's  attention  was  directed  elsewhere, 
for  Colonel  Stark  put  in  an  appearance,  having  boldly 
crossed  the  Neck  under  the  hot  fire  of  the  enemy. 
Putnam  galloped  to  meet  him  and  retained  a  part  of 
the  New  Hampshire  regiment  to  labour  at  the  intrench- 
ments  on  Bunker  Hill.  "  Push  on,  Colonel  Stark;  the 
enemy  have  landed  and  formed,"  was  his  shout  to 
the  officer  himself.  Stark  accordingly  led  the  rest  of 
the  newly  arrived  men  to  the  fence  breastwork  and 
extended  that  defence  to  the  edge  of  Mystic  River  by 
ordering  a  stone  wall  to  be  built  on  the  beach.  Colonel 
Reed  soon  followed  with  the  other  New  Hampshire 
regiment  and  took  post  at  the  rail-fence.  Most  of  the 
Massachusetts  troops  who  came  about  this  time  on  the 
field  proceeded  to  the  redoubt  and  its  adjacent  earth 
breastwork  ;  the  rest,  instead  of  marching  up  Breed's 
Hill,  turned  to  the  left,  for  Putnam  had  shouted  to  the 
officers  in  some  of  the  regiments,  "  Draw  off  your 
troops  here  and  man  the  rail-fence,  for  the  enemy  's 
flanking  of  us  fast."  A  company  of  artillery  under 
Captain  John  Callender  arrived,  and  was  directed  to 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        225 

the   open  space  where  Captain  Gridley  and  his  men 
were  stationed. 

On  wheeling  his  horse,  after  giving  orders  near  one 
of  the  cannon,  Putnam  suddenly  encountered  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren,  who,  in  accordance  with  his  declared  intention 
to  share  the  peril  of  the  day  with  his  fellow-patriots, 
was  hastening  down  the  slope  of  Bunker  Hill  on  foot, 
with  a  sword  at  his  side  and  a  musket  on  his  shoulder. 
This  young  President  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
Massachusetts  had  recently  been  appointed  a  major- 
general  in  the  army  of  his  colony,  but  he  proposed  to 
serve  in  the  coming  battle  simply  as  a  volunteer  aid. 
Putnam  dismounted  and  entered  into  an  earnest  con- 
versation with  him.  "  The  two  generals  were  stand- 
ing," a  soldier  who  was  passing  by  used  to  tell,  "  and 
General  Putnam  had  hold  of  the  bridle  of  his  horse." 
"  They  consulted  on  measures  to  be  pursued,"  writes 
Colonel  Swett,  who  afterwards  learned  the  substance  of 
the  conversation. 

"General  Putnam  informed  him  [Warren]  that  from  long 
experience  he  perfectly  comprehended  the  character  of  the 
British  army  ;  they  would  ultimately  succeed  and  drive  us  from 
the  works,  but  from  the  mode  of  attack  they  had  chosen,  it  was 
in  our  power  to  do  them  infinite  mischief,  though  we  must  be 
prepared  for  a  brave  and  orderly  retreat  when  we  could  main- 
tain our  ground  no  longer." 

Daniel  Putnam,  who  recounts  what  his  father  told 
him  about  the  talk  with  Warren,  is  our  authority  for 
these  memorable  words  which  passed  between  the  two 
patriots  : 

"Alluding  to  a  former  conversation  he  [General  Putnam] 
said,  •  I  am  sorry  to  see  you  here,  General  Warren  ;  I  wish  you 
had  taken  my  advice  and  left  this  day  to  us,  for,  from  appear- 
ances, we  shall  have  a  sharp  time  of  it,  and  since  you  are  here 
15 


226  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

I  am  ready  to  submit  myself  to  your  orders.'  Warren  replied, 
'  I  came  only  as  a  volunteer  ;  I  know  nothing  of  your  disposi- 
tions, nor  will  I  interfere  with  them.  Tell  me  where  I  can  be 
most  useful.'  Putnam  pointed  to  the  redoubt  and,  intent  on 
his  [Warren's]  safety,  said,  •  You  will  be  covered  there.'  '  Don't 
think,'  said  Warren,  '  I  came  here  to  seek  a  place  of  safety,  but 
tell  me  where  the  onset  will  be  most  furious.'  Putnam  pointed 
again  to  the  redoubt,  'That,'  said  he,  'is  the  enemy's  object; 
Prescott  is  there  and  will  do  his  duty,  and  if  it  can  be  defended 
the  day  will  be  ours.'  Warren  left  him  and  walked  quietly 
towards  the  redoubt." 

The  cheers  which  presently  rose  from  Breed's  Hill 
told  how  cordially  Warren  was  greeted  there  by  the 
men.  On  entering  the  redoubt  he  was  tendered  the 
command  by  Prescott,  but  with  modest  heroism  he  re- 
plied to  him,  as  he  had  done  to  Putnam,  that  he  came 
only  as  a  volunteer,  and  would  be  happy  to  learn  from 
a  soldier  of  experience.  Soon  there  appeared  on  the 
scene  of  action  another  patriotic  volunteer  who  was 
enthusiastically  received  with  huzzas  from  different 
parts  of  the  field.  This  was  none  other  than  Putnam's 
comrade  of  twenty  years  before  in  the  bloody  battle  of 
Lake  George, — the  dauntless  Seth  Pomeroy,  now  in  his 
seventieth  year.  Having  borrowed  a  neighbour's  horse 
at  his  Northampton  home,  he  had,  despite  feeble  health, 
ridden  a  hundred  miles  and  had  arrived  this  very  day 
at  Cambridge.  Leaving  the  borrowed  horse  out  of 
harm's  way,  he  walked  over  Charlestown  Neck,  regard- 
less of  the  fire  which  swept  it,  and  reached  the  Heights 
just  as  the  enemy  were  preparing  for  the  assault  of  the 
works.  When  Putnam  caught  sight  of  the  old  man, 
whose  fighting  days  were  supposed  to  be  ended,  striding 
gun  in  hand,  up  the  hill,  he  shouted,  "  By  God!  Pom- 
eroy, you  here  !  A  cannon-shot  would  waken  you  out 
of  your  grave  !  ' ' 


1775]       The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        227 

At  this  hour—  nearly  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
—  about  three  thousand  British  troops  had  landed  on 
the  Charlestown  peninsula.  With  intense  excitement 
the  Americans  watched  the  brilliant  battalions  of 
Grenadiers  and  Light  Infantry  forming  on  Moulton's 
Point  into  two  divisions.  The  Grenadiers,  the  tallest 
and  finest-looking  men  in  the  British  army,  who  could 
be  distinguished  also  by  their  high  caps  and  other 
peculiarities  in  dress,  were  to  lead  in  the  attack.  Soon 
the  redoubled  roar  of  artillery  told  that  the  ranks  of 
veterans  had  been  put  in  motion  for  the  general  assault. 
Presently  the  defenders  of  the  rail-fence  could  see, 
through  the  smoke,  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy's 
force  approaching  slowly  and  steadily  to  drive  them 
from  their  position  and  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  men 
in  the  redoubt,  against  which  the  left  wing  was  ad- 
vancing. 

Putnam  was  all  activity,  riding  up  and  down  just 
behind  the  soldiers  at  the  fence  who  rested  their  deadly 
weapons  on  the  top  rail  and  awaited  with  excited 
eagerness  the  order  to  fire.  Says  Reuben  Kemp,  one 
of  this  number  : 

11  General  Putnam  seemed  to  have  the  ordering  of  things. 
He  charged  the  men  not  to  fire  until  the  enemy  came  close  to 
the  works,  and  then  to  take  good  aim,  and  make  every  shot 
kill  a  man,  and  he  told  one  officer  to  see  that  this  order  was 
obeyed." 

Philip  Johnson  relates  of  Putnam  :  "  I  distinctly 
heard  him  say,  '  Men,  you  are  all  marksmen  —  don't 
one  of  you  fire  until  you  see  the  white  of  their  eyes.'  " 
Other  words  of  Putnam  were  repeated  along  the  line 
by  Knowlton  and  Reed  and  Stark  to  the  men  whose 
fingers  were  so  impatient  to  pull  the  waiting  trigger  : 


228  Israel  Putnam  [1775 

"  Powder  is  scarce  and  must  not  be  wasted."  "Fire  low." 
11  Take  aim  at  the  waistbands."  "  You  are  all  marksmen  and 
could  kill  a  squirrel  at  a  hundred  yards."  "  Reserve  your  fire 
and  the  enemy  will  all  be  destroyed."  "Aim  at  the  handsome 
coats."     "  Pick  off  the  commanders." 

While  the  soldiers  awaited  the  nearer  approach  of 
the  British,  Captains  Gridley  and  Callender  were 
ordered  to  return  the  enemy's  fire  with  their  field- 
pieces.  The  former  officer  found  difficulty  in  discharg- 
ing his  cannon,  and  on  a  plea  that  "  nothing  could  be 
done  with  them,"  left  the  post,  and  most  of  his  artillery 
company  followed  his  example. 

"General  Putnam  came  to  one  of  the  pieces  near  which  I 
stood,"  says  Ezra  Runnels,  one  of  the  men  who  did  not  desert, 
"  and  furiously  inquired  where  our  officers  were.  On  being 
told  our  cartridges  were  too  big  and  that  the  pieces  could  not 
be  loaded,  he  swore,  and  said  they  could  be  loaded  ;  taking  a 
cartridge  he  broke  it  open,  and  loaded  the  pieces  with  a  ladle, 
which  were  discharged  ;  and  assisted  us  in  loading  two  or  three 
times  in  that  manner." 

The  guns,  however,  were  soon  disabled  and  were  drawn 
to  the  rear.  Callender,  too,  retreated  in  great  haste 
with  his  cannon,  but  on  reaching  Bunker  Hill  he 
met  Putnam,  who,  according  to  the  contemporaneous 
account, 

"  ordered  the  officer  to  stop  and  go  back  ;  he  replied  he  had  no 
cartridges  ;  the  General  dismounted  and  examined  his  boxes, 
and  found  a  considerable  number  of  cartridges,  upon  which  he 
ordered  him  back  ;  he  refused,  until  the  General  threatened 
him  with  immediate  death,  upon  which  he  returned."  * 

*  This  early  account  is  based  on  a  statement  which  Putnam 
himself  made  to  a  committee  appointed,  soon  after  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, 
"  to  inquire  into  the  misconduct  of  Capt.  Callender."  The  re- 
port of  the  committee  will  be  found  in  Force's  American  Ar- 
chives',  Fourth  Series,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1438. 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        229 

But  Callender  did  not  remain  long  this  second  time  at 
the  post.  "  His  men,''  asserts  Colonel  Swett,  "  were 
disgusted  with  a  part  of  the  service  they  did  not  under- 
stand, most  of  them  had  muskets  and  mingled  with  the 
infantry,  the  pieces  were  entirely  deserted,  and  the 
captain  relinquished  them."  Putnam,  on  returning 
from  Bunker  Hill,  whither  he  had  gone  to  bring  on 
some  of  the  men  who  were  intrenching  there,  came 
upon  the  abandoned  caunon  "  at  the  foot  of  the  hill." 
He  demanded  of  the  soldiers  in  the  vicinity  where  the 
gunners  were  and  was  told  that  they  had  scattered. 
Captain  John  Ford's  company  of  Bridge's  regiment 
happened  to  be  passing  by  and  Putnam  called  upon 
them  to  draw  the  guns  to  the  front. 

"Our  men  utterly  refused,"  declares  a  member  of  the  com- 
pany, "  and  said  they  had  no  knowledge  of  the  use  of  artillery, 
and  that  they  were  ready  to  fight  with  their  own  arms.  Captain 
Ford  then  addressed  the  company  in  a  very  animated,  patriotic 
and  brave  strain,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  man  ;  the  com- 
pany then  seized  the  drag-ropes  and  soon  drew  them  to  the  rail- 
fenoe,  according  to  my  recollection  about  half  the  distance  from 
the  redoubt  on  Breed's  Hill  to  Mystic  River." 

Putnam  now  directed  in  person  the  discharges. 

"He  pointed  the  cannon  himself,"  says  Swett;  "the  balls 
took  effect  on  the  enemy,  and  one  case  of  canister  made  a  lane 
through  them.  With  wonderful  courage,  however,  the  enemy 
closed  their  ranks,  and  coolly  marched  on  to  the  attack."  * 

The  British  Grenadiers  were  advancing  directly  in 
front,  while  the  Light  Infantry,  in  order  to  turn  the 

*  The  incidents  of  the  removal  of  the  field-pieces  by  Captain 
Ford's  company  to  the  rail-fence,  and  the  firing  of  the  cannon 
by  Putnam,  are  placed  by  Colonel  Swett,  in  the  first  edition  of  his 
history  of  the  battle,  just  before  the  second  assault  by  the  Brit- 
ish.    In  the   second   and   third  editions,    he  says   that  they 


230  Israel  Putnam  [1775 

extreme  left  of  the  American  force,  moved  along  the 
shore  of  the  Mystic  River.  When  the  enemy  were 
seen  deploying  into  line,  a  few  of  the  men  at  the  rail- 
fence  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  fire  their 
muskets  without  orders.  Instantly  the  General  left 
the  cannon  and  hastened  to  the  spot. 

"General  Putnam  appeared  to  be  very  angry,"  narrates 
Private  Reuben  Kemp,  "and  passed  along  the  lines  quickly 
with  his  sword  drawn,  and  threatened  to  stab  any  man  that 
fired  without  orders. 

"The  enemy  kept  firing  as  they  advanced,  and  when  they 
had  got  pretty  near  the  works,  we  were  all  ordered  to  take  good 
aim  and  fire.  All  this  time  General  Putnam  was  constantly 
passing  backwards  and  forwards,  from  right  to  left,  telling  us 
the  day  was  our  own  if  we  would  only  stick  to  it." 

Although  the  British,  in  a  patriot  officer's  words, 
"  fired  their  heaviest  volleys  of  musketry  with  admir- 
able coolness  and  regularity  "  their  aim  was  too  high, 
and  consequently  "  almost  every  ball  passed  harm- 
lessly over  the  Americans."  The  royal  troops  were 
about  eight  rods  distant  when  the  Provincials,  breath- 
less and  intent,  received  the  "  fatal  order."  The  blaze 
which  poured  upon  the  King's  ranks  was  no  less 
withering  than  that  which  had  already  strewed  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  redoubt  with  the  dead  and 
wounded.  Another  murderous  discharge  burst  forth 
from  the  fence  and,  as  the  enemy  recoiled  in  confusion, 
many  of  the  Americans,  being  sharpshooters,  picked 
out  the  British  officers  and  exclaimed,  "  There  !     See 


occurred  when  the  British  were  advancing  the  first  time.  This 
latter  order  of  events  is  followed  by  Frothingham  in  his  Siege 
of  Boston  and  Ellis  in  his  History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
and  by  other  writers  who  have  depended  upon  Swett  for  the 
principal  facts. 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        231 

that  officer!  Let  us  have  a  shot  at  him!  "  and  then 
two  or  three  would  fire  at  the  same  time.  Like  the 
division  which  was  on  the  retreat  before  Prescott  and 
his  men  at  the  redoubt,  this  wing  of  the  British  army, 
after  attempting  to  make  a  stand,  was  obliged  to  give 
way.  On  seeing  the  assailants  retire,  the  Americans 
set  up  a  shout,  and  some  of  them  leaped  over  the 
fence  with  the  intention  of  pursuing  the  enemy,  but 
they  were  restrained  by  their  officers. 

While  the  "  huzza  of  victory  re-echoed  through  the 
American  line,"  Putnam,  confident  that  another  attack 
would  soon  be  made,  rode  to  Bunker  Hill  and  to  the 
rear  of  it  to  urge  on  reinforcements.  At  the  farther 
end  of  Charlestown  Neck  were  gathered  troops  who 
dared  not  cross  the  isthmus  on  account  of  the  cannon- 
balls  that  raked  it. 

"  Putnam  flew  to  the  spot,"  chronicles  Swett,  "  to  overcome 
their  fears  and  hurry  them  on  before  the  enemy  returned.  He 
entreated,  threatened,  and  encouraged  them  ;  lashing  his  horse 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword,  he  rode  backward  and  forward  across 
the  Neck,  through  the  hottest  fire,  to  convince  them  there  was 
no  danger.  The  balls,  however,  threw  up  clouds  of  dust  about 
him,  and  the  soldiers  were  perfectly  convinced  that  he  was  in- 
vulnerable, but  not  equally  conscious  of  being  so  themselves. 
Some  of  these  troops,  however,  ventured  over." 

Putnam  now  started  for  the  front  with  the  men 
whom  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  across  the  Neck. 
On  his  way  he  tried  to  rally  the  reinforcements  which 
had  already  reached  Bunker  Hill. 

The  men  were  disorganised  and  dispersed  on  the  west 
side  of  the  hill,  and  were  covered  by  the  summit  from 
the  fire.     Putnam  ordered  them  on  to  the  lines. 

"  He  entreated  and  threatened  them,"  says  Swett,  "and  some 
of  the  most  cowardly  he  knocked  down  with  his  sword,  but  all 


232  Israel  Putnam 


[1775 


in  vain.  The  men  complained  they  had  not  their  officers  ;  he 
offered  to  lead  them  on  himself,  but  [they  pleaded  as  an  excuse 
for  not  following  him  that]  '  the  cannon  were  deserted  and 
they  stood  no  chance  without  them.'  The  battle  indeed  ap- 
peared here  in  all  its  horrors.  The  British  musketry  fired  high 
and  took  effect  on  this  elevated  hill  and  it  was  completely  ex- 
posed to  the  combined  fire  from  the  ships,  batteries,  and  field- 
pieces." 

The  British,  under  cover  of  their  artillery,  were  ad- 
vancing for  the  second  assault.  Putnam  hastened 
forward  to  the  rail-fence.  Beyond  the  redoubt  the 
flames  were  rising  over  Charlestown,  which  had  been 
set  on  fire  by  shells  thrown  from  Copp's  Hill  and  by  a 
party  of  marines  who  had  landed  from  the  Somerset 
warship.  Fortunately  the  wind  drove  away  the  huge 
clouds  of  smoke  and  gave  the  Americans  a  full  view  of 
the  approaching  enemy.  The  British  marched  in  the 
same  order  as  in  the  first  attack  ;  their  left  wing  was 
moving  towards  the  redoubt  and  its  earth  breastwork, 
their  right  wing  was  coming  on  towards  the  rail-fence. 
The  assailants  were  keeping  up  a  steady  fire  as  they 
advanced,  but,  behind  the  defences,  the  Americans  had 
orders  to  reserve  their  fire  until  the  columns  should 
come  even  nearer  than  before.  "  I  saw  General  Put- 
nam," states  a  Connecticut  private  who  was  at  the 
rustic  breastwork  of  green  grass,  "  riding  along  the 
whole  line  and  crying  out,  '  Stick  to  your  posts,  men, 
and  do  your  duty  ' ;  he  was  greatly  exposed." 

When  at  length  the  redcoats  were  only  six  rods 
away,  a  sheet  of  fire  belched  from  the  fence  with  such 
fearful  precision  that  whole  platoons  of  the  British 
were  swept  down.  "  General  Putnam  encouraged  us 
very  much,"  relates  a  soldier,  Samuel  Jones,  "  and 
rode  up  and  down  behind  us  ;  his  horse  was  all  of  a 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        233 

lather,  and  the  battle  was  going  on  very  hotly  at  the 
time." 

"General  Putnam  came  up  to  our  Regiment,"  says  another 
soldier,  John  Holden  ;  "  he  appeared  very  actively  engaged  in 
the  action.  One  of  the  Regiment  got  down  behind  a  haycock  ; 
General  Putnam  rode  up  and  cried,  '  Gods  curse  him  !  run  him 
through  if  he  won't  fight ! '  gave  him  one  or  two  blows  with  his 
sword  and  drove  him  into  the  ranks." 

The   Americans  were   kept    steady   by   the    intrepid 
General. 

The  enemy,  staggering  over  their  dead  and  wounded, 
closed  their  ranks  and  repeated  their  attack,  but  they 
were  met  by  the  same  deliberate  aim,  and  their  troops 
broke  before  the  terrific  volleys.  "  By  God!  "  Putnam 
is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  when  he  saw  the  King's  men 
fall  under  the  shower  of  bullets,  "  I  never  saw  such  a 
carnage  of  the  human  race."  Three  times  General 
Howe,  the  commander  of  the  right  wing  of  the  royal 
army,  was  left  alone,  so  many  of  his  staff  fell  around 
him.  May  not  the  reason  why  he  was  spared  have 
been  that  many  of  the  Provincials  cherished  the  memory 
of  his  noble  brother,  the  beloved  L,ord  Howe,  whom 
they  had  followed  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  ? 
Major  Small  was  among  the  British  officers  exposed  to 
the  American  fire  ;  his  life  was  saved  by  Putnam,  as 
Small  himself  used  to  tell  in  after  years.  This  is  his 
story  : 

lt  I,  with  the  other  officers,  was  in  front  of  the  line  to  encour- 
age the  men  ;  we  had  advanced  very  near  the  works,  undis- 
turbed, when  an  irregular  fire,  like  afeu-de-joie,  was  poured  in 
upon  us  ;  it  was  cruelly  fatal.  The  troops  fell  back  ;  and  when 
I  looked  to  the  right  and  left,  I  saw  not  one  officer  standing  ; 
I  glanced  my  eye  to  the  enemy,  and  saw  several  young  men 


234  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

levelling  their  pieces  at  me  ;  I  knew  their  excellence  as  marks- 
men, and  I  considered  myself  gone. 

"At  that  moment,  my  old  friend  Putnam  rushed  forward, 
and  striking  up  the  muzzles  of  their  pieces  with  his  sword 
cried  out,  '  For  God's  sake,  my  lads,  don't  fire  at  that  man  !  I 
love  him  as  I  do  my  brother.'  We  were  so  near  each  other  that 
I  heard  his  words  distinctly.  He  was  obeyed  ;  I  bowed,  thanked 
him,  and  walked  away  unmolested."  * 

After  an  heroic  attempt  to  force  the  American  lines, 


*  This  testimony  by  Small  is  contained  in  a  letter  dated  "  New 
York,  30th  March,  1818,"  from  Colonel  John  Trumbull,  the 
painter  of  historic  scenes  of  the  American  Revolution,  to  Daniel 
Putnam.  Trumbull  prefaces  Small's  story  thus  :  "  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1786,  I  became  acquainted,  in  London,  with  Col.  John 
Small,  of  the  British  army,  who  had  served  in  America  many 
years,  and  had  known  General  Putnam  intimately,  during  the 
War  of  Canada,  from  1756  to  1763.  Looking  at  the  picture  [of 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill]  which  I  had  almost  completed,  he 
said,  '  I  don't  like  the  situation  in  which  you  have  placed  my 
old  friend  Putnam  ;  you  have  not  done  him  justice.  I  wish 
you  would  alter  that  part  of  your  picture,  and  introduce  a  cir- 
cumstance which  actually  happened,  and  which  I  can  never 
forget.'  " 

Then  follows  in  Trumbull's  letter  the  anecdote  as  given 
above. 

Some  writers  have  felt  that  the  story  of  the  saving  of  Small's 
life  by  Putnam  wears  too  much  the  air  of  romance  to  be  im- 
plicitly relied  upon.  In  reply  to  such  critics,  these  words  of 
Daniel  Webster  in  the  North  American  Review,  July,  1818, 
may  be  cited  :  "  There  is,  and  can  be,  no  doubt  that  Col.  Small 
has  stated  the  fact ;  and  there  is  the  positive  declaration  of 
Daniel  Putnam,  that  his  father  mentioned  the  same  occurrence 
to  him  shortly  after  it  happened.  Very  probably  there  is  one 
mistake  into  which  Colonel  Trumbull  may  have  fallen.  It  was 
not  at  the  redoubt  that  the  incident  happened,  but  at  the  breast- 
work or  the  rail-fence.  Admitting  this  to  have  crept  into  the 
account  given  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  the  essential  facts  remain 
altogether  uncontradicted," 


k  A 


GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

AFTER    THE    PAINTING    BY    COLONEL  TRUMBULL. 


1775]       The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        235 

the  British  were  at  length  compelled  to  give  way  again 
before  the  defenders  of  the  rail-fence.  This  time  the 
enemy  retreated  in  greater  disorder  than  after  the  first 
attack.  Some  of  them  even  ran  to  the  boats  for  safety. 
The  assailants  under  General  Pigot  were  as  precipitously 
driven  back  from  the  front  of  the  redoubt.  There  was 
a  continuous  stream  of  fire  on  Breed's  Hill,  from  Pres- 
cott's  men,  from  the  first  discharge  until  the  enemy 
broke  and  fled.  The  ground  in  front  of  the  works  was 
covered  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Putnam  now  rode 
again  to  the  rear  to  hasten  forward  the  scattered  rein- 
forcements and  to  attempt  to  carry  out  the  plan  of 
intrenching  Bunker  Hill.  On  meeting  Colonel  Gar- 
diner's regiment  on  that  eminence,  he  retained  a  part 
of  the  troops  to  labour  on  the  works  and  ordered  the  rest 
to  the  rail-fence.  Portions  of  other  regiments  arrived 
on  the  peninsula,  but  owing  to  the  great  confusion  and 
excitement  some  of  the  men  did  not  advance  to  the 
front. 

Although  some  of  the  Americans  had  encouraged 
themselves  with  the  hope  that  the  British,  after  being 
obliged  to  retire  twice  with  terrible  loss,  would  not 
renew  the  attack,  the  enemy  rallied  and  began  to  pre- 
pare for  another  attempt  to  carry  the  works  by  storm. 
General  Clinton  crossed  the  Charles  River  with  rein- 
forcements, and  General  Howe  massed  the  columns  for 
a  more  concentrated  movement  against  the  redoubt. 
From  the  American  lines  a  part  of  the  enemy's  arrange- 
ments could  be  observed.  The  regulars  were  laying 
aside  their  knapsacks  in  order  to  advance  in  light  order 
and  charge  with  the  bayonet.  The  artillery  was  being 
pushed  forward  to  a  position  where  it  could  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  gap  between  the  breastwork  and  the 
rail-fence,  and  thus  rake  the  interior  of  the  redoubt. 


236  Israel  Putnam  [1775 

The  situation  of  Prescott  and  his  men  was  desperate, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  their  ammunition,  but  they 
were  determined  to  defend  Breed's  Hill  to  the  last 
extremity.  On  came  the  enemy,  this  time  in  silence, 
the  whole  force  advancing  towards  the  redoubt.  The 
patriots  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  coolly  reserved  their 
fire  until  the  British  were  within  twenty  yards  and  then, 
at  the  word  of  command,  they  delivered  the  deadly 
discharge.  Many  of  the  enemy  fell.  I^ieutenant- 
Colonel  James  Abercrombie,  at  the  head  of  the  Grena- 
diers, was  among  the  mortally  wounded.  While  he  was 
being  borne  to  the  rear  by  the  men,  he  begged  them  to 
spare  his  old  friend  Putnam.  "  If  you  take  General 
Putnam  alive,"  he  said,  "don't  hang  him,  for  he's  a 
brave  man."  * 

Under  the  galling  fire  of  the  British  artillery,  which 
sent  their  balls  through  the  sallyport  directly  into  the 
redoubt,  the  Americans  were  at  a  great  disadvantage, 
in  addition  to  the  fact  that  their  ammunition  was  soon 
expended.  They  tried  to  keep  their  assailants  at  bay 
by  hurling  stones,  but  this  only  revealed  their  weak- 
ness and  filled  the  oncoming  enemy  with  confidence. 
The  regulars  reached  the  redoubt  and  began  scaling  the 
works.  The  Provincials  tried  to  resist  with  clubbed 
muskets,  but,  in  the  hand-to-hand  fight,  the  bristling 
bayonets  forced  an  entrance  and  the  redcoats  swarmed 
into  the  works.  Prescott  now  gave  the  order  to  retreat, 
and  his  brave  band  pushed  their  way  out  of  the  redoubt, 
fighting  as  they  went.  Among  the  Americans  who  fell 
at  this  time  was  Warren.  He  had  just  left  the  redoubt 
when   a   bullet   struck  him  in   the  forehead.     Major 


*L,ondon  paper  quoted  in  the  New  England  Chronicle,  Nov., 
1775. 


<   S 


1775]       The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        237 

Small  is  said  to  have  parried  the  thrust  of  a  soldier 
who  was  about  to  plunge  his  bayonet  into  the  dying 
hero — a  scene  which  is  represented  by  Colonel  John 
Trumbull  in  his  well-known  painting,  The  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill. 

Meanwhile  Putnam,  in  the  rear,  was  riding  up  and 
down  the  slope  near  the  Neck,  and  shouting  to  the 
belated  men  to  hurry  to  the  front.  "  Press  on,  press 
on,"  were  his  excited  orders,  "  our  brethren  are  suffer- 
ing, and  will  be  cut  off." 

11  The  musket-balls,"  relates  William  Dickson,  who 
belonged  to  one  of  the  companies  which  was  being 
hurried  forward  to  make  a  stand,  "  flew  very  thick 
where  Putnam  was,  nearly  or  quite  on  top  of  Bunker 
Hill.  He  did  not  seem  to  mind  it.  Putnam  had  a 
sword  in  his  hand  and  hallooed  to  us  to  drive  up." 

The  Americans  at  the  rail-fence,  whose  right  had 
been  opened  by  the  retreat  of  Prescott's  men  from  the 
redoubt,  rendered  at  this  time  very  valuable  service,  for 
they  defended  their  line  with  such  bravery  that  the 
enemy  could  not  cut  off  the  soldiers  who  were  making 
their  way  towards  the  Neck.  At  last,  however,  the 
Provincials  under  Stark,  Reed,  Knowlton,  and  the 
other  officers  at  the  rail-fence  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  position,  but  they  ''gave  ground,"  as  was  re- 
ported, "  with  more  regularity  than  could  have  been 
expected  of  troops  who  had  been  no  longer  under  dis- 
cipline, and  many  of  whom  never  before  saw  an 
engagement." 

No  sooner  did  Putnam,  who  was  riding  from  point  to 
point  along  the  brow  of  Bunker  Hill  in  the  effort  to 
urge  forward  reinforcements,  become  aware  that  the 
whole  body  of  Americans  were  in  full  retreat  from  the 
front,  than  he  attempted  to  force  back  the  disordered 


238  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

troops.  But  his  commands  were  disobeyed,  contradic- 
tory orders  were  given  by  different  officers,  and,  amid 
the  clouds  of  dust  and  smoke,  the  Americans  continued 
on  the  retreat  in  great  confusion.  The  General  rode 
to  the  rear  of  the  excited  and  struggling  mass  of  men, 
and,  waving  his  sword  high  in  air,  shouted  in  a  sten- 
torian voice,  "  Make  a  stand  here  !  "  "  We  can  stop 
them  yet!  "  "  In  God's  name  form  and  give  them  one 
shot  more  !  "  But  the  soldiers,  regardless  of  Putnam's 
words,  pressed  past  the  unfinished  works  on  Bunker 
Hill  where  he  tried  to  rally  them.  ' '  Halt,  you  damned 
cowards  !  "  he  yelled  ;  i:  halt  and  give  them  another 
shot  !  "  Then,  as  the  men  kept  on  towards  the  Neck, 
the  fiery  General,  with  the  imprecation  of  "  God  curse 
ye  !  "  upon  the  troops  over  whom  he  had  no  control, 
hurriedly  dismounted  his  horse,  determined  to  face  the 
oncoming  enemy. 

"  He  took  his  stand  near  a  field-piece,"— this  act  of  Putnam 
we  learn  from  Swett, — "  and  seemed  resolved  to  brave  the  foe 
alone.  His  troops,  however,  felt  it  impossible  to  withstand  the 
overwhelming  force  of  the  British  bayonets  ;  they  left  him. 
One  sergeant  only  dared  to  stand  by  his  general  to  the  last ;  he 
was  shot  down,  and  the  enemy's  bayonets  were  just  upon  the 
general  when  he  retired." 

One  of  the  American  cannon  which  had  been  used 
in  the  battle  was  dragged  to  the  Neck  during 
the  retreat,  and  this  opened  on  the  British.  The 
enemy,  however,  after  taking  possession  of  Bunker 
Hill  with  a  "  parade  of  triumph,"  did  not  follow  up 
their  success  by  pursuing  the  Americans  farther  and 
making  an  attack  on  Cambridge.  They  set  to  work 
throwing  up  a  line  of  breastworks  on  the  hill  where 
Putnam  had  tried  to  rally  his  men.     Meanwhile  that 


1775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        239 

undaunted  American  General  had  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing most  of  the  retreating  Provincials  to  a  halt  on 
Winter  Hill  and  Prospect  Hill.  It  was  at  the  latter 
place  that  Putnam  seems  to  have  learned  for  the  first 
time  that  the  noble  Warren  had  been  killed. 

"The  fate  of  Warren,"  says  Daniel  Putnam  in  his  reminis- 
cences of  his  father,  "  brought  to  his  mind  that  of  Lord  Howe, 
who  fell  by  his  side  seventeen  years  before,  and  to  whom  also 
he  had  given  advice  [about  exposing  his  life].  I  once  asked 
my  father  if  he  knew  any  of  the  particulars  of  Warren's  fate,  or 
where  or  at  what  time  he  lost  his  life.  'Nothing,'  he  replied, 
'  except  that  Prescott  told  me  he  was  in  the  redoubt  braving 
the  enemy  wThen  they  stormed  it, — but  I  never  saw  him  after 
we  parted  before  the  battle  began.'  " 

In  the  same  letter,  written  in  after  years,  Daniel 
Putnam  gives  an  account  of  himself  and  the  Inman 
family  while  the  battle  was  in  progress,  and  he  also 
speaks  of  his  father's  bravery  : 

"  Mrs.  Inman  had  been  all  day  expecting  the  British  would 
embark  troops  from  the  bottom  of  the  common  in  Boston,  and 
land  them  near  where  the  Lexington  detachment  was  landed, 
and  her  attention  had  been  chiefly  directed  to  that  quarter ; 
but  the  furious  discharge  of  musketry  made  it  evident  they  had 
gone  out  some  other  way,  and  were  engaged  in  a  battle,  the 
issue  or  consequences  of  which  could  not  be  foreseen.  The 
day  was  drawing  towards  its  close,  and  dreading  the  horrors 
that  might  overwhelm  her  family  in  the  night,  everything  was 
put  in  requisition  for  a  hasty  removal  ;  but  it  was  after  sunset, 
and  not  until  it  had  been  ascertained  at  Cambridge  that  the 
British  had  gained  possession  of  Charlestown  Heights,  with  a 
loss  on  both  sides  that  none  pretended  to  calculate,  that  we 
passed  through  the  scene  of  confusion  there  visible,  on  our  way 
to  Brush  Hill. 

"  We  were  hastily  and  but  imperfectly  accoutred  for  the 
jaunt,  so  that  it  was  midnight  before  we  reached  our  destina- 
tion.     On  the  way,   we  learned  from  people  who  passed  us 


240  Israel  Putnam  [i775 

(some  of  whom  had  been  in  the  battle  or  claimed  to  have  been 
so)  that  General  Putnam  was  safe  ;  but  his  escape  was  con- 
sidered miraculous,  for  wonderful  tales  were  told  us  of  the 
dangers  with  which  he  had  been  surrounded,  and  the  uncon- 
cern he  appeared  to  feel  when  they  were  the  greatest." 

Putnam's  activity  at  the  rail-fence  and  near  the  re- 
doubt in  encouraging  the  men  and  commanding  them 
not  to  waste  their  powder,  but  to  wait  before  firing 
until  they  saw  the  white  of  the  enemy's  eyes,  the 
authority  which  he  exercised  in  withdrawing  men  with 
intrenching  tools  from  Prescott  to  throw  up  earth- 
works on  the  second  eminence,  his  repeated  trips  across 
Charlestown  Neck  to  obtain  reinforcements,  his  attempts 
to  rally  the  men  during  the  retreat,  and  his  orders  after 
the  troops  came  to  a  halt  on  Prospect  and  Winter  hills 
are  all  evidences  that  he  was  the  foremost  leader  in 
different  parts  of  the  field,  and  yet  the  question  as  to 
who  really  had  the  chief  command  in  the  battle  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  controversy.*  The  useless- 
ness  of  prolonged  debate  over  the  matter  appears  at 
once  when  the  fact  is  taken  into  consideration  that  the 
work  of  the  battle  was  largely  the  work  of  distinct 
bodies  of  men,  not  yet  organised  into  one  army.  In 
this  unorganised  state  of  military  affairs,  Ward  was 
in  a  certain  way  considered  the  principal  general 
because  he  was  in  charge  of  the  largest  number  of 
troops,  those  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  battle  itself, 
Warren  was  the  ranking  officer  on  the  field,  but  as  he 


*  A  bibliography  relating  to  the  question  of  the  command  in 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  will  be  found  in  Appendix  II.  in  this 
book. 

A  series  of  interesting  articles  on  the  subject  of  the  command, 
by  Rev.  A.  P.  Putnam,  D.D.,  was  published  in  the  Danvers 
(Mass.)  Mirror  \n  1896. 


GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

FROM  THE  PAINTING  BY  J.  WILKINSON. 


i775]        The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill        241 

expressly  declined  the  command,  it  left  Putnam  the 
ranking  officer  ;  and  the  latter  held  in  a  vague,  unmili- 
tary  fashion  the  position  of  chief  of  the  grand  division 
of  which  Prescott's  command  was  a  part.  It  has  been 
pertinently  remarked  that  the  question  of  the  chief  com- 
mand would  be  more  important  had  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  been  characterised  by  any  grand  tactics.  As  no 
special  generalship  was  involved,  and  the  significance 
of  the  battle  lay  in  its  moral  effects,  the  question  has 
little  interest  except  for  local  patriots.  The  contro- 
versy is  really  at  bottom  one  of  rivalry  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut.  The  important  service 
which  Putnam  rendered  at  Bunker  Hill  in  the  patriotic 
cause  is  emphatically  stated  by  Washington  Irving  in 
a  noteworthy  paragraph.  After  mentioning  the  con- 
spicuous part  taken  in  the  battle  by  Prescott,  who  was 
unquestionably  in  immediate  charge  of  the  detachment 
which  built  and  defended  the  redoubt,  he  pays  this 
glowing  and  deserved  tribute  to  Putnam : 

"  Putnam  also  was  a  leading  spirit  throughout  the  affair  ;  one 
of  the  first  to  prompt  and  one  of  the  last  to  maintain  it.  He 
appears  to  have  been  active  and  efficient  at  every  point  ;  some- 
times fortifying  ;  sometimes  hurrying  up  reinforcements  ;  in- 
spiriting the  men  by  his  presence  while  they  were  able  to 
maintain  their  ground,  and  fighting  gallantly  at  the  outpost  to 
cover  their  retreat.  The  brave  old  man,  riding  about  in  the 
heat  of  the  action,  on  this  sultry  day,  '  with  a  hanger  belted 
across  his  brawny  shoulders,  over  a  waistcoat  without  sleeves,' 
has  been  sneered  at  by  a  contemporary,  as  '  much  fitter  to  head 
a  band  of  sickle  men  or  ditchers  than  musketeers.'  But  this 
very  description  illustrates  his  character,  and  identifies  him 
with  the  times  and  the  service.  A  yeoman  fresh  from  the  plough, 
in  the  garb  of  rural  labour  ;  a  patriot  brave  and  generous,  but 
rough  and  ready,  who  thought  not  of  himself  in  time  of  danger, 

but  was  ready  to  serve  in  any  way,  and  to  sacrifice  official  rank 
16 


242 


Israel  Putnam 


[1775 


and  self-glorification  to  the  good  of  the  cause.  He  was  emi- 
nently a  soldier  for  the  occasion.  His  name  has  long  been  a 
favourite  one  with  young  and  old ;  one  of  the  talismanic 
names  of  the  Revolution,  the  very  mention  of  which  is  like  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet.  Such  names  are  the  precious  jewels  of 
our  history,  to  be  garnered  up  among  the  treasures  of  the 
nation,  and  kept  immaculate  from  the  tarnishing  breath  of  the 
cynic  and  the  doubter."  * 


*  The  Life  of  George  Washington* 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


BKSIKGING   BOSTON 


1775-1776 

N  occupying  Prospect  Hill  on  the  retreat 
from  the  Charlestown  Heights,  Putnam 
acted  on  his  own  responsibility,  as  ap- 
pears from  a  statement  which  he  after- 
wards made. 


"Pray,"  lie  wrote  to  the  Cambridge  Committee  of  Safety, 
"  did  I  not  take  possession  of  Prospect  Hill  the  very  night  after 
the  fight  on  Bunker  Hill,  without  having  any  orders  from  any 
person  ?  And  was  not  I  the  only  general  officer  that  tarried 
there?  The  taking  of  said  hill  I  never  could  obtain  leave  for 
before,  which  is  allowed  by  the  best  judges  was  the  salvation 
of  Cambridge,  if  not  of  the  country. "  * 

This  prompt  occupation  of  Prospect  Hill  was  in  keeping 
with  Putnam's  purpose  to  resist  at  every  point;  and  the 
ultimate  value  of  this  position  was,  as  a  military  critic 
has  pointed  out, 

"  very  determining  in  its  relations  to  the  siege.  Its  advanced 
flanking  posts  of  Lechmere  Point,  Cobble  Hill,  and  Ploughed 
Hill,  afterwards  developed  by  General  Washington,  combined 
their  cross-fire,  and  thus  sealed  Charlestown  Neck.    A  protracted 

*  Letter  dated  New  York,  May  22,  1776. 
243 


244  Israel  Putnam  [1775- 

halt  on  Bunker  Hill  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  whole  detach- 
ment;  but  his  [Putnam's]  occupation  of  Prospect  Hill  was 
eminently  judicious."  * 

The  soldiers  whom  Putnam  had  ordered,  immediately 
after  the  battle,  to  take  post  on  Prospect  Hill  began 
throwing  up  defences,  and  continued  at  this  task  until 
they  were  relieved  during  the  night  by  a  reinforcement 
which  he  obtained.  Here  the  lad  Daniel  arrived  the 
next  morning, —  Sunday,  June  18th, — having  obtained 
permission  from  the  Inmans  to  leave  Brush  Hill, 
whither  he  had  accompanied  them  the  previous  even- 
ing. He  describes  his  search  for  his  father  and  how 
the  General  was  occupied  when  he  found  him  : 

"  I  was  not  long  in  retracing  my  steps  of  the  last  night  [June 
17]  back  [from  Brush  Hill]  to  Cambridge.  Genl.  Putnam  was 
not  at  his  quarters  ;  he  had  been  there,  it  was  said,  for  a  few 
minutes  only,  and  with  fresh  men  was  then  fortifying  Prospect 
Hill.  There  I  found  him  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  18th  of  June,  dashing  about  among  the  workmen  throwing 
up  intrenchments,  and  often  placing  a  sod  with  his  own  hands. 
He  wore  the  same  clothes  he  had  on  when  I  left  him,  thirty- 
eight  hours  before,  and  affirmed  he  had  neither  put  them  off 
nor  washed  himself  since  ;  and  we  might  well  believe  him,  for 
the  aspect  of  all  bore  evidence  that  he  spoke  the  truth. 

"I  joined  my  entreaty  to  the  earnest  request  of  every  officer 
round  him  that  he  would  go  to  his  quarters  and  take  some  re- 
freshment and  rest.  He  inquired  what  had  become  of  Mrs.  In- 
man  ?  I  told  him  where  I  had  left  her  in  safety,  and  we  went 
home  together." 

The  energetic  Putnam  could  not  remain  quiet  long 
at  Cambridge  while  the  British  cannon  threatened  the 
works  which  were  being  built.     He  soon  returned  to 


*Gen.  H.  B.  Carrington  in  his  Battles  of  the  American  Re- 
volution, Fifth  Edition,  vol.  i.,  p.  Ill, 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  245 

resume  as  active  command  as  ever.  He  was,  as  before, 
on  horseback,  and  in  a  few  minutes'  space  of  time  could 
be  at  any  part  of  the  heights  where  the  men  were  dig- 
ging. Works  were  vigorously  carried  on  not  only  at 
Prospect  Hill  but  also  at  Winter  Hill,  where  the  New 
Hampshire  troops  and  some  Connecticut  men  had  made 
a  stand  on  the  night  of  the  battle,  and  had  flung  up  by 
morning  an  intrenchment  about  an  hundred  yards 
square  under  Putnam's  directions.*  Nearly  four  thou- 
sand troops  were  soon  stationed  on  or  near  Prospect 
Hill,  including  eight  Massachusetts  regiments,  the 
officers  of  which  had  orders  from  General  Ward  not  to 
leave  their  posts  without  permission  from  Putnam. 
During  the  two  weeks  which  followed  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  Putnam  was  exceedingly  busy  in  for- 
warding the  completion  of  the  fortifications.  The  bluff 
farmer-General  had  no  patience  with  any  of  the  officers 
who  were  not  ready  to  share  the  labour  of  the  men  at  a 
time  when  speed  in  finishing  the  defences  was  impera- 
tive. Once  he  rebuked  a  dilatory  private  by  an  ironical 
allusion  to  those  officers  who  were  sticklers  for  mere 
military  formalities.  The  incident  is  narrated  by  a 
soldier  named  Harvey  : 

11  On  one  occasion  General  Putnam  came  along  near  where 
I  was  at  work,  and,  seeing  a  quantity  of  sods  which  had  just 
been  brought  up,  he  addressed  himself  to  one  of  the  men, 
directing  him  to  place  them  on  the  wall,  remarking  at  the  same 
time,  '  You  are  a  soldier,  I  suppose  ? '  The  order  not  being 
executed  on  the  instant,  the  General  added,  ■  Oh  !  I  see  you  are 
an  officer  ! '  and  immediately  took  hold  and  placed  the  sods 
himself. 

"Meanwhile,"  adds  Harvey,    "the  balls   were   continually 


*  Diary  of  Lieut. -Col.    Experience   Storrs   of  the   3rd   (Put- 
nam's) Connecticut  Regiment. 


246  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

pouring  in  from  the  British  forts,  sometimes  killing  our  men, 
and  sometimes  tearing  our  works ;  but  they  went  forward 
nevertheless,  and  were  soon  in  a  condition  to  return  the 
compliment." 

Sunday,  July  2nd,  was  an  eventful  day  for  the  patriot 
soldiers  around  Boston.  About  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  General  George  Washington,  whom  the 
Continental  Congress  had  appointed  Commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  American  troops,  reached  Cambridge, 
having  made  the  journey  from  Philadelphia,  on  horse- 
back, in  about  ten  days.  Putnam  was  one  of  the 
officers  who  exchanged  personal  greetings  with  Wash- 
ington at  the  house  of  President  L,angdon  which,  "  ex- 
cepting one  room  reserved  by  the  president  for  his  own 
use,"  had  been  "prepared  and  furnished  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  Commander-in-chief."  Between  the 
Virginia  chieftain  and  the  Connecticut  veteran  now 
began  a  friendship,  of  which  Dr.  Albigence  Waldo 
wrote  in  1818  : 

"  Washington  and  Putnam  were  unknown  to  each  other  until 
they  met  at  Cambridge.  The  open,  undisguised  frankness  of 
the  latter,  together  with  his  great  activity  and  personal  indus- 
try in  everything  pertaining  to  the  army,  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  former  ;  an  early  intimacy  was  formed  and  a 
firm  friendship  established,  which  continued  undisturbed  dur- 
ing the  whole  period  they  were  associated  in  service." 

On  the  morning  after  his  arrival,  Washington,  ac- 
companied by  Putnam  and  other  officers,  rode  from  his 
headquarters  to  Cambridge  Common,  where  the  troops 
were  drawn  up.  There,  under  the  branches  of  an  elm, 
he  wheeled  his  horse,  drew  his  sword,  and  formally 
assumed  command  of  the  Continental  army.  This 
ceremony  over,  he  made  a  tour  of  the  different  Ameri- 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  247 

can  posts,  and  on  reaching  Prospect  Hill  he  was  greatly 
impressed  by  what  Putnam  had  accomplished  on  that 
important  height,  which  commanded  a  wide  view  over 
Boston  and  the  surrounding  country.  A  contemporary 
of  the  energetic  and  efficient  Connecticut  General 
testifies  : 

11  It  was  not  in  Putnam's  nature  to  be  idle  ;  inured  to  habits 
of  industry  himself,  no  man  was  better  calculated  to  make 
others  so,  and  Washington,  observing  the  great  progress  that 
had  been  made  in  a  short  time  in  raising  the  work  of  defence, 
said  to  him,  'You  seem  to  have  the  faculty,  General  Putnam, 
of  infusing  your  own  industrious  spirit  into  all  the  workmen 
you  employ.'  " 

On  July  4th, — just  one  year  before  the  memorable 
day  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, — Washington 
issued  the  following  in  General  Orders  :  * 

"The  Hon.  Artemas  Ward,  Charles  Lee,  Philip  Schuyler, 
and  Israel  Putnam,  Esqs.,  are  appointed  majors-general  in  the 
American  army,  by  the  honorable  Continental  Congress,  and 
due  obedience  is  to  be  paid  them  as  such." 

A  few  days  later,  the  names  of  eight  brigadier- 
generals  whom  Congress  had  chosen  were  formally 
announced.  They  were  Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard  Mont- 
gomery, David  Wooster,  William  Heath,  Joseph  Spen- 
cer, John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and  Nathanael 
Greene.  Trouble  brewed  in  camp  in  relation  to  some 
of  the  appointments,  especially  because  Putnam  had 
been  advanced  over  Spencer,  and  Pomeroy  over 
Thomas.  It  is  interesting  to  have  Washington's  ac- 
count of  the  controversy.  In  a  letter  dated  July  10, 
1775,  he  writes  to  the  Continental  Congress  thus  : 

*  General  Orders  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society  y  vol.  xv.,  p.  114. 


248  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

"  I  am  sorry  to  observe  that  the  Appointments  of  the  General 
Officers  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  have  by  no  Means 
corresponded  with  the  Judgement  and  Wishes  of  either  the 
civil  or  Military.  The  great  Dissatisfaction  expressed  on  this 
Subject  and  the  apparent  Danger  of  throwing  the  Army  into 
the  utmost  Disorder,  together  with  the  strong  Representations 
of  the  Provincial  Congress,  have  induced  me  to  retain  the  Com- 
missions in  my  Hands  untill  the  Pleasure  of  the  Congress  should 
be  farther  known  (except  General  Puttnam's  which  was  given 
the  Day  I  came  into  Camp  and  before  I  was  apprized  of  these 
Uneasinesses).  In  such  a  Step  I  must  beg  the  Congress  will 
do  me  the  Justice  I  believe,  that  I  have  been  actuated  solely  by 
a  Regard  to  the  publick  Good.  I  have  not,  nor  could  have  any 
private  Attachments  ;  every  Gentleman  in  Appointment  was  an 
entire  Stranger  to  me  but  from  Character.  I  must  therefore 
rely  upon  the  Candor  of  the  Congress  for  their  favorable  Con- 
struction of  my  Conduct  in  this  Particular.  General  Spencer 
was  so  much  disgusted  at  the  preference  given  to  General  Putt- 
nam  that  he  left  the  Army  without  visiting  me,  or  making 
known  his  Intentions  in  any  respect."  * 

Silas  Deane,  the  Connecticut  delegate,  who  heard 
these  words  of  Washington  read  before  the  Congress 
at  Philadelphia,  says,  in  a  letter  written  soon  after- 
wards, that  the  members  greatly  disapproved  of  Spen- 
cer's conduct.  The  same  writer  was  elated  by  the 
honour  won  for  his  colony  and  the  country  by  the 
"  brave  intrepidity  of  old  General  Putnam  "  on  "  whom 
by  every  account  the  whole  Army  has  depended  ever 
since  the  Lexington  battle,"  and  who  was  now  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  Major-General.  With  high  pride 
Deane  penned  : 

11  Putnam's  merit  rung  through  this  Continent ;  his  fame  still 
increases, — and  every  day  justifies  the  unanimous  applause  of 


*  Writings  of  George   Washington,  ed.  by  W.  C.  Ford,  vol. 
iii.,  p.  14. 


-dias  to"  th« 


F 


t/W^0/ 


.30MAELY  appeared    Jfc>J%ZSZr*+~i&£  J^*.,*  <  C 


And  wmk&e,<jti>o?c  o*th  £; 
Bcfort  m 


GENERAL  PUTNAM'S  OATH  OF  ALLEGIANCE. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  249 

the  continent.  Let  it  be  remembered,  he  had  every  vote  of  the 
Congress ;  and  his  health  has  been  the  second  or  third  at 
almost  all  our  tables  in  this  city.  But  it  seems  that  he  does 
not  wear  a  large  wig,  nor  screw  his  countenance  into  a  form 
that  belies  the  sentiments  of  his  generous  soul  ;  he  is  no  adept 
either  at  political  or  religious  canting  and  cozening  ;  he  is  no 
shake-hand  body  ;  he  therefore  is  totally  unfit  for  everything 
but  fighting  ;  that  department  I  never  heard  that  these  in- 
triguing gentry  wanted  to  interfere  with  him  in.  I  have  scarce 
any  patience.  O  Heaven  !  blast,  I  implore  thee,  every  such 
low,  narrow,  selfish,  envious  manoeuvre  in  the  land,  nor  let  one 
such  succeed  far  enough  to  stain  the  fair  page  of  American 
patriotic  politics."  * 

The  principal  officers  at  Cambridge  had  little  sym- 
pathy for  Spencer,  as  appears  in  a  letter  by  Deane's 
step-son,  lieutenant  Samuel  B.  Webb  : 

"You'll  find  the  Generals  Washington  and  Lee  [Charles 
Lee  had  accompanied  Washington  from  Philadelphia  to  Cam- 
bridge] are  vastly  fonder  and  think  higher  of  Putnam  than  any 
man  in  the  army  ;  and  he  truly  is  the  Hero  of  the  day." 

"I  find,"  continues  Webb  to  Deane,  "the  intention  of  Spen- 
cer was  to  get  our  [Connecticut]  Assembly  to  remonstrate  to 
the  Continental  Congress  and  beg  a  re-appointment  ;  but  little 
did  he  think  that  this  could  not  be  done  without  cashiering 
Putnam, — as  he  is  in  possession  of  his  commission  ;  and  better 
for  us  to  lose  four  Spencers  than  half  a  Putnam."  f 

The  affair  with  Spencer  was  finally  settled  by  his 
consenting  to  return  to  the  army  and  to  take  rank 
after  Putnam. 

During  nearly  the  whole  of  July,  Putnam  continued 


*  Deaue  Papers  in  Collections  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society,  vol.  ii. ;  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
vol.  xix. 

f  Correspondence  and  Journals  of  Samuel  Blachley  Webb, 
ed.  by  W.  C.  Ford,  vol.  i. 


250  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

in  chief  command  of  the  troops  at  Prospect  Hill. 
Several  characteristic  incidents  are  said  to  have 
occurred  here.  One  day,  having  summoned  all  his 
captains  to  headquarters,  Putnam  announced  that  he 
wished  one  from  their  number  to  take  charge  of  a  secret 
and  hazardous  undertaking.  Captain  Foster,  of  Mans- 
field's Massachusetts  regiment,  "  after  waiting  a  short 
time  for  his  seniors  to  have  an  opportunity  to  offer 
their  services,"  stepped  forward,  eager  to  signalise 
himself.  Six  or  eight  men  were  drafted  from  each  com- 
pany, and  at  the  appointed  time  the  party,  fully  armed 
and  equipped,  appeared  before  Putnam's  tent  for  further 
orders.  The  bluff  old  General  came  out  and  reviewed 
them  in  due  form.  He  commended  their  spirit  and 
good  appearance  and  then,  much  to  their  surprise, 
ordered  them  to  lay  aside  their  arms  and  equipments, 
provide  themselves  with  axes,  and  go  into  a  neighbour- 
ing swamp  and  cut  a  quantity  of  fascines  which  they 
were  to  bring  in  upon  their  shoulders.  And  so  these 
men,  who  had  "expected  to  gain  honour  by  their  cheer- 
ful exposure  to  unknown  dangers  and  hardships," 
found — in  the  concluding  words  of  William  Cutter,  the 
narrator  of  this  story  of  the  good-natured  and  fun-lov- 
ing commander — that  "  their  greatest  danger  was 
from  the  attacks  of  the  musquitoes,  and  their  greatest 
exposure  was  to  the  mirth  of  their  fellow-soldiers." 

Another  incident  is  told  by  the  same  writer.  It  ap- 
pears that  Putnam,  whose  experiences  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War  had  made  him  an  adept  in  handling 
boats,  undertook  to  train  in  person  some  of  the  men  for 
the  management  of  the  numerous  craft  which  were  kept 
in  readiness  in  the  Charles  River  preparatory  to  a  possi- 
ble attack  on  Boston.  On  a  certain  day,  when  the  men 
were  at  practice,  manoeuvring  under  his  direction,  a 


'  A™m^&]J  ^ctit-m  /£  <J  yffa  w gjla 
and    +<?/}Aon  <£tfas  y,Ur.  $&£*<   Jj^ 
■4ied  4tu*>/     /it#c&   1M/4kc   rtUT  Vtfc     &  fa* 

he*./-         pnmcJcf/^/    $J#uD  an<^r  aw  ■£&?<*'  qfi 
/y    my  pi«f£h?  for  g  ^3  /irnr*  e4/P^cn 

<Wcjrf    -Hict^c   Welt/      6it~  <£  pclcce*t    Hie*'/  ?icM** 


^Huf  wy  rf*  &*y  wr  cj**t46*m> 

"faratau^ 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  251 

smaller  boat,  the  occupants  of  which  were  either  heed- 
less of  orders  or  unskilful  in  rowing,  ran  athwart  the 
course  of  the  one  in  which  Putnam  was.  In  order  to 
teach  a  much-needed  lesson,  he  did  not  change  his 
course  or  attempt  to  check  his  speed,  but,  as  the  story 
goes, 

11  ran  the  disorderly  shallop  down,  staving  in  her  side,  and 
tumbling  her  whole  crew  into  the  water.  Having  completed 
the  movement  he  had  ordered,  the  delinquents  were  all  care- 
fully picked  up,  and  cautioned  to  be,  for  the  future,  more 
attentive  to  the  word  of  command." 

A  day  of  special  interest  at  Prospect  Hill  was  Tues- 
day, July  18th,  the  date  of  the  first  flag-raising  of  the 
American  Revolution.  The  occasion  was  the  reading 
of  the  declaration  which  the  Continental  Congress  had 
recently  adopted,  "  setting  forth  the  causes  and  neces- 
sity of  their  taking  up  arms."  The  troops  at  Cam- 
bridge had  been  paraded,  three  days  before,  to  listen 
to  this  manifesto,  and  now  a  morning  was  set  apart  that 
it  might  be  read  to  Putnam's  division  of  the  army. 
There  are  several  contemporaneous  allusions  to  the 
event.  This  account  was  published  in  the  Essex  Gazette 
of  July  19,  1775  : 

"Yesterday  morning  according  to  orders  issued  the  day  be- 
fore by  Major-General  Putnam,  all  the  Continental  troops 
under  his  immediate  command  assembled  on  Prospect  Hill, 
when  the  declaration  of  the  Continental  Congress  was  read, 
after  which  an  animated  and  pathetic  address  to  the  army  was 
made  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Leonard,  chaplain  to  General  Put- 
nam's regiment,  and  succeeded  by  a  pertinent  prayer  ;  then 
General  Putnam  gave  the  signal,  and  the  whole  army  shouted 
their  loud  Amen  by  three  cheers  ;  upon  which  a  cannon  was 
fired  from  the  fort,  and  the  standard  lately  sent  to  General 
Putnam  was  exhibited,  flourishing  in  the  air,  bearing  on  one 


252  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

side  this  motto,  "  An  Appeal  to  Heaven,"  and  on  the  other 
side,  "  Qui  Transtulit  Sustinet."  The  whole  was  conducted 
with  the  utmost  decency,  good  order  and  regularity  and  to  the 
universal  acceptance  of  all  present.  And  the  Philistines  on 
Bunker's  Hill  heard  the  shout  of  the  Israelites  and,  being  very 
fearful,  paraded  themselves  in  battle  array." 

The  scarlet  standard  with  its  letters  and  armourial 
bearings  in  gold  was  called  Putnam's  flag,  being  the 
one  which  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  had 
ordered  for  the  3rd  Regiment  of  the  colony.  Wash- 
ington is  said  to  have  acted  as  presenter  at  this  unfurling 
on  Prospect  Hill.  Captain  James  Dana,  who  was 
chosen  to  receive  the  flag  and  to  display  it,  was  warned 
1 '  that  in  so  doing  he  must  not  let  the  colours  fall,  as  that 
would  be  deemed  ominous  of  the  fall  of  America."  *  It 
is  further  related  that  the  great  six-foot  captain,  who 
could  face  a  hostile  army  without  flinching,  shrank 
like  a  child  from  this  display  and  fain  would  have  de- 
clined the  honour,  but  Putnam  cheered  him  on  by  blunt 
words  of  humour  and  a  friendly  clap  on  the  shoulder  ; 
whereupon  Captain  Dana  advanced  and  received  the 
flag  from  Washington's  aide  and  carried  it  three  times 
around  the  interior  circle  of  the  parade  amid  great 
applause  by  the  soldiers. 

Washington,  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Cam- 
bridge, had  devoted  solicitous  attention  not  only  to 
strengthening  the  defences,  but  also  to  reorganising 
the  army.  By  a  new  arrangement,  which  dated  from 
July  22,  1755,  the  soldiers  from  the  same  colony,  as  far 
as  practicable,  were  brought  together.  The  right 
wing  of  the  army  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
General  Ward,   who  accordingly  removed   his  head- 


*  learned,  History  of  Windham  County,  Conn.,  vol.  ii. 


i776]  Besieging  Boston  253 

quarters  from  Cambridge  to  Roxbury,  where  he  had 
under  him  Brigadier-Generals  Thomas  and  Spencer. 
The  left  wing  of  the  army  was  assigned  to  General  Lee. 
This  division  consisted  of  two  brigades,  the  one  at 
Prospect  Hill  being  put  under  Brigadier-General 
Greene,  and  the  other  at  Winter  Hill  under  Brigadier- 
General  Sullivan.  Putnam  himself  was  transferred 
from  Prospect  Hill  to  the  command  of  the  centre  division 
at  Cambridge,  and,  like  Ward  and  Lee,  had  two  bri- 
gades, or  twelve  regiments,  under  him. 

Putnam's  two  aides-de-camp,  appointed  at  this  time, 
were  his  eldest  son,  Israel,  and  young  Samuel  B.  Webb. 
Said  the  latter,  when  writing  to  his  step-father,  Silas 
Deane,  through  whose  influence  the  appointment  had 
been  obtained  : 

"  General  Putnam  is  a  man  highly  esteemed  with  us.  .  .  . 
Since  which  [appointment  as  Aide  to  Putnam]  I  have  had  the 
offer  of  being  a  Brigade  Major  from  General  Gates.  They  are 
both  Honorable  and  agreeable  posts.  I  shall  for  the  present 
remain  with  General  Putnam." 

As  aide  to  Putnam,  Webb  wrote  nearly  all  the  letters 
that  went  out  with  the  General's  signature. 

The  men  who,  by  the  new  arrangement  of  the  army 
in  July,  belonged  to  the  brigades  under  Putnam  con- 
sidered themselves  very  fortunate,  for  it  has  not  been 
too  strongly  asserted  by  Worthington  Chauncey  Ford 
that 

"  at  this  time  the  opportunity  of  serving  under  '  Old  Put '  was 
something  to  be  desired.  He  was  the  most  popular  of  the  com- 
manding officers.  His  bluff  and  hearty  ways  were  better  suited 
to  win  the  confidence  of  the  newly-formed  army  than  the  cold 
and  distant  manners  of  the  other  generals.  The  soldiers  could 
appreciate  Putnam  and  he  was  the  toast  of  the  camp." 


254  Israel  Putnam  fi775- 

The  Inman  house,  which  had  not  been  occupied  since 
the  family  of  the  loyalist  Ralph  Inman  left  it  on  the 
night  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  now  became  the 
new  headquarters  of  Putnam.  "  It  could  not  have 
been  better  situated  in  a  military  view,"  truly  remarks 
the  antiquarian  Drake,  in  telling  the  story  of  this  his- 
toric house,  "  for  Old  Put's  residence." 

11  The  General's  own  regiment,"  he  continues,  "  and  most  of 
the  Connecticut  troops  lay  encamped  near  at  hand  in  Inman's 
green  fields  and  fragrant  pine  woods.  It  was  but  a  short  gallop 
to  the  commander-in-chief's,  or  to  the  posts  on  the  river.  Re- 
move all  the  houses  that  now  intervene  between  Inman  Street 
and  the  Charles,  and  we  see  that  the  gallant  old  man  had 
crouched  as  near  the  enemy  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do, 
and  lay  like  a  watch-dog  at  the  door  of  the  American  lines."  * 

But  Putnam's  vigilance  lest  the  British  troops  should 
make  an  aggressive  movement,  and  his  strenuous  devo- 
tion to  the  American  cause,  did  not  obliterate  his  per- 
sonal attachment  to  some  of  the  King's  officers,  who 
had  been  his  comrades  in  the  war  with  the  French  and 
Indians.  He  gladly  welcomed,  therefore,  the  oppor- 
tunity, soon  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  for  an 
interview  with  Major  Small  on  the  lines  between  the 
Charlestown  Heights  and  Prospect  Hill.  It  appears 
that  this  meeting,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  was  brought 
about  by  the  urgent  request  of  Small,  who  wished  to 
express  personally  to  his  old  friend  his  deep  gratitude 
for  that  timely  interference  which  had  saved  his  life  in 
the  recent  engagement. 

The  effects  of  the  siege  soon  began  to  be  felt  in 
Boston,  for  the  royal   soldiers,    owing  to  the  limited 


*S.  A.  Drake,  Historic  Mansions  and  Highways  Around 
Boston. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  255 

supply  of  other  provisions,  were  compelled  to  live 
almost  exclusively  on  salt  pork  and  fish.  Even  the 
sick  and  wounded  were  subjected  to  this  unhygienic 
diet.  Reports  of  the  extremity  in  town  having  reached 
the  Cambridge  camp,  Putnam,  in  sympathy  for  the  suf- 
ferers, both  regular  and  Provincial,  sent  supplies  at 
once  to  some  of  the  British  officers  as  well  as  to  the 
American  prisoners.  The  following  note  was  dated 
August  8th  : 

"  General  Putnam's  compliments  to  his  old  friend  Major 
Moncrieffe.  Is  sorry  he  could  not  sooner  send  him  some  of  the 
comforts  of  life.  He  now  sends  him  (through  the  hands  of 
Major  Bruce)  some  mutton,  beef,  and  fresh  butter,  which  he 
begs  his  acceptance  of,  with  a  hearty  welcome."  * 

A  British  officer  in  Boston  wrote  to  his  father  in 
I/mdon,  thus  : 

"Why  should  I  complain  of  hard  fate?  General  Gage  and 
all  his  family  have  for  this  month  past  lived  upon  salt  pro- 
visions. Last  Saturday  General  Putnam,  in  the  true  style  of 
military  complaisance,  which  abolishes  all  personal  resentment 
and  smooths  the  horrors  of  war  when  discipline  will  permit, 
sent  a  present  to  the  General's  lady  of  a  fine  fresh  quarter  of 
veal,  which  was  very  acceptable,  and  received  the  return  of  a 
very  polite  card  of  thanks."  f 

Not  yet  was  a  revolution  involving  separation  from 
the  mother  country  thought  of  by  the  mass  of  American 
colonists.  The  members  of  the  Continental  Congress 
had  expressly  declared,  "We  mean  not  to  dissolve  that 
union  which  has  so  long  and  so  happily  subsisted  be- 
tween us."     It  has  been  truly  said  of  the  majority  of 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  vol. 
xiv.,  p.  269. 

f  Extract  from  a  London  paper,  quoted  in  Frank  Moore's 
Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  i.,  p.  136. 


256  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

partiotic  leaders  that  the  most  they  hoped  for  was 
that,  by  offering  a  stout  resistance  to  an  enforcement  of 
the  ministerial  policy,  they  could  compel  a  change  in 
that  policy  and  enjoy  all  that  they  demanded  under  the 
English  constitution.  Putnam  had  a  different  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  matter,  as  his  son  Daniel  interest- 
ingly states  : 

"Without  any  wish  for  'reconciliation,'  he  [Putnam]  be- 
lieved that  Britain  would  persevere  in  her  demands,  and  that 
America  had  no  alternative  but  submission  or  a  long,  protracted 
resistance.  In  support  of  this  remark  I  beg  leave  to  relate  an 
anecdote  of  which  I  was  myself  a  witness. 

"From  the  arrival  of  Washington  at  Cambridge  till  the 
enemy  left  Boston,  his  and  Putnam's  military  families  were 
not  only  on  the  most  friendly  terms,  but  their  intercourse  was 
very  frequent.  Not  a  week  passed  but  they  dined  together  at 
the  quarters  of  one  or  the  other.  One  day  in  the  month  of 
September,  [1775,]  Genl.  Washington  at  his  table  gave  for  a 
toast, — 'A  speedy  and  honourable  peace,'  and  all  appeared  to 
join  with  good  will  in  the  sentiment.  Not  many  days  after, 
at  Putnam's  quarters,  addressing  himself  to  Washington,  he 
said, — 'Your  Excellency  the  other  day  gave  us  "  a  speedy  and 
honourable  peace,"  and  I,  as  in  duty  bound,  drank  it  ;  and  now, 
I  hope,  Sir,  you  will  not  think  it  an  act  of  insubordination  if  I 
ask  you  to  drink  one  of  rather  a  different  character :  I  will 
give  you,  Sir,  "  A  long  and  a  moderate  war."  '  It  has  been  truly 
said  of  Washington  that  he  seldom  smiled  and  almost  never 
laughed,  but  the  sober  and  sententious  manner  in  which  Put- 
nam delivered  his  sentiment,  and  its  seeming  contradiction  to 
all  his  practice,  came  so  unexpectedly  on  Washington  that  he 
did  laugh  more  heartily  than  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  him 
before  or  after  ;  but  presently  he  said,  'You  are  the  last  man, 
Genl.  Putnam,  from  whom  I  should  have  expected  such  a  toast, 
you  who  are  all  the  time  urging  vigorous  measures,  to  plead 
now  for  a  long,  and  what  is  still  more  extraordinary,  a  moderate, 
war,  seems  strange  indeed.'  Putnam  replied  that  the  measures 
he  advised  were  calculated  to  prevent,   not  hasten,   a  peace 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  257 

which  would  be  only  a  rotten  thing  and  last  no  longer  than  it 
divided  us.  'I  expected  nothing'  [said  Putnam]  'but  a  long 
war,  and  I  would  have  it  a  moderate  one,  that  we  may  hold 
out  till  the  mother  country  becomes  willing  to  cast  us  off  for- 
ever.' Washington  did  not  soon  forget  this  toast;  for  years 
after,  and  more  than  once,  he  reminded  Putnam  of  it." 

The  limited  supply  of  cannon  and  ammunition  and 
the  undisciplined  condition  of  the  army  compelled 
Washington,  despite  his  desire  to  drive  the  enemy  from 
Boston  by  "  some  decisive  stroke,"  to  pursue  in  the 
autumn,  as  in  the  summer,  an  inactive,  defensive 
policy.  At  this  period  of  the  siege,  Mrs.  Putnam 
made  the  journey  from  Connecticut  to  visit  her  hus- 
band, and  she  was  still  in  Cambridge,  later  in  1775,  at 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Washington,  who  was 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Gates,  wife  of  Adjutant-General 
Horatio  Gates,  and  by  other  companions.  The  pre- 
sence of  the  ladies  gladdened  the  hearts  of  their  hus- 
bands in  the  gloomy  monotony  of  camp  life.  In  the 
frequent  interchange  of  hospitalities,  Mrs.  Putnam  was 
a  most  cordial  hostess  at  the  Inman  house.  The 
Inman  family  coach,  which  had  been  standing  idle 
since  the  loyalist  owner  fled  to  Boston,  leaving  the 
stable  provided  with  horses  and  handsome  equipages, 
was  now  ordered  out  by  Putnam  for  his  wife's  use  in 
making  calls  and  taking  drives  into  the  country.  Cer- 
tain Cambridge  authorities,  claiming  that  such  appro- 
priation of  confiscated  property  was  unwarranted,  had 
the  presumption,  on  one  occasion  when  Mrs.  Putnam 
was  at  a  distance  from  home,  to  compel  her  to  alight 
from  the  carriage.  The  General  was  "  not  of  a  temper 
to  submit  very  meekly  to  such  an  affront,"  *  and  on 

*  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol. 
xxv.,  July,  1871,  p.  232. 


258  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

learning  of  the  ungallant  treatment  which  his  wife  had 
received,  gave  vent  to  his  indignation  in  English  more 
forceful  than  elegant.  In  reply  to  his  remonstrance, 
the  offenders  afterwards  wrote  : 

"  Nothing  was  ever  aimed  at  treating  you  or  yours  unbecom- 
ing the  many  obligations  that  we  are  under  for  the  extraordinary 
services  you  have  done  to  this  town  [Cambridge]  which  must 
always  be  acknowledged  with  the  highest  gratitude,  not  only 
by  us,  but  by  rising  generations."  * 

The  American  camp  and  colonies  were  thrown  into 
much  excitement  in  October  by  the  discovery  of  the 
treason  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  surgeon-general  of 
the  military  hospital,  who  had  borne  the  character  of  a 
distinguished  patriot.  For  several  weeks  he  had  car- 
ried on  a  secret  correspondence  with  the  enemy,  but 
finally  a  letter  in  cipher,  which  he  intended  to  be  de- 
livered to  the  commander  of  a  British  war-vessel  in 
Newport  Harbour,  was  intercepted.  A  woman  who 
had  acted  as  bearer  of  the  letter  part  of  the  way  re- 
turned to  Cambridge,  supposing  that  she  had  entrusted 
it  to  safe  hands.  No  sooner  was  she  suspected  of 
being  a  spy  than  Putnam  himself  undertook  her  arrest. 
Tradition  tells  how  Washington  was  looking  from  the 
chamber  of  his  headquarters  at  the  Craigie  house  when 
he  beheld  the  General  approaching  in  great  speed  on 
horseback  with  the  stout  lady  en  croupe  behind  him. 
Not  even  the  Commander-in-chief  could  keep  from 
laughing  at  the  ludicrous  sight  presented  by  the  sturdy 
"  Wolf-hunter"  and  his  prize;  and  he  hardly  had  time 
to  recover  his  gravity  before  the  front  door  was  thrown 
open  and  the  culprit  was  made  to  enter  the  hall  by  the 
strong  arm  of  her  escort.     From  the  head  of  the  broad 


*  Letter  dated  June  18,  1776. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  259 

staircase,  Washington,  in  as  stern  a  tone  as  he  could 
assume,  warned  her  that  nothing  but  a  full  confession 
could  save  her  from  a  halter.  She  told  in  detail  the 
story  of  Dr.  Church's  treachery  ;  and  he  was  forthwith 
arrested,  tried,  and  imprisoned. 

For  the  winter  campaign  a  reorganisation  of  the 
army  was  imperative,  for  the  terms  of  enlistment  of 
many  of  the  soldiers  would  expire  in  December  or  at 
the  beginning  of  the  new  year.  A  committee  of  three, 
— Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  of  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Benja- 
min Harrison  of  Virginia,  and  the  Hon.  Thomas  Lynch 
of  South  Carolina, — whom  the  Continental  Congress 
had  appointed  to  consult  in  person  with  Washington 
and  his  generals  as  well  as  with  delegates  from  New 
England  colonies  in  relation  to  the  "  continuance  and 
new-modelling"  of  the  army,  arrived  in  the  Cam- 
bridge camp  on  October  15th.  Putnam  now  met  some 
of  the  foremost  patriots  of  the  time.  We  can  well 
imagine  what  hearty  greeting  he  gave  the  distin- 
guished visitors  ;  and  they  must  have  found  great 
pleasure  in  becoming  personally  acquainted  with  the 
hero  whose  services  to  the  country  had  already  won 
for  him  a  high  place  in  their  esteem. 

To  the  American  camp  came  also  in  October  the  Rev. 
Jeremy  Belknap,  pastor  of  the  First  Parish  in  Dover, 
N.  H.,  who  has  left  some  interesting  notes  of  his  visit 
to  the  several  generals.  Under  date  of  October  19th, 
there  is  this  entry  in  his  journal  :  * 

"After  dining  with  General  Ward  [at  Roxbury],  I  returned 
to  Cambridge.  In  the  evening,  visited  and  conversed  with 
General  Putnam.  Ward  appears  to  be  a  calm,  cool,  and 
thoughtful  man  ;  Putnam  a  rough  fiery  genius." 

*  Belknap's  journal  is  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  vol.  iv. 


260  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

On  October  20th,  Pastor  Belknap,  in  characterising 
L,ee,  mentions  Putnam  again  : 

"  General  Lee  is  a  perfect  original,  a  good  scholar  and 
soldier,  and  an  odd  genius  ;  full  of  fire  and  passion  and  but  little 
good  manners  ;  a  great  sloven,  wretchedly  profane,  and  a  great 
admirer  of  dogs  of  which  he  had  two  at  dinner  with  him,  one 
of  them  a  native  of  Pomerania  which  I  should  have  taken  for  a 
bear  had  I  seen  him  in  the  woods. 

"A  letter  which  he  wrote  General  Putnam  yesterday  is  a 
copy  of  his  odd  mind.  It  is,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  as 
follows,  being  a  letter  of  introduction  of  one  Page,  a  Church 
clergyman  : — 

"  '  HOBGOBUN  HALL,  Oct,  IQ,   1 775. 

"  '  Dear  General,— Mr.  Page,  the  bearer  of  this,  is  a  Mr. 
Page.  He  has  the  laudable  ambition  of  seeing  the  great  General 
Putnam.  I  therefore  desire  you  would  array  yourself  in  all 
your  majesty  and  terrors  for  his  reception.  Your  blue  and 
gold  must  be  mounted,  your  pistols  stuck  in  your  girdle  ;  and 
it  would  not  be  amiss  if  you  should  black  one  half  of  your  face. 

"  *  I  am  dear  general,  with  fear  and  trembling,  your  humble 
servant, 

11  «  Charles  Lee.'  " 

The  letter  which  Belknap  quotes  must  have  seemed 
harmless  drollery  to  the  bearer,  but  it  was  doubtless  in- 
tended to  convey  to  the  quick-witted  Putnam  a  covert 
warning  that  he  should  be  on  his  guard  against  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Page,  who  was  suspected  of  being  a  spy. 
Certainly,  in  ending  the  letter,  Lee  took  an  original 
way  of  telling  Putnam  to  "  keep  dark  "  in  the  presence 
of  his  visitor. 

As  the  days  passed  away,  the  Revolutionary  leaders 
guarded  more  assiduously  than  ever  against  an  advance 
of  the  King's  troops  from  Boston.  Meanwhile,  across 
the  ocean,  the  debates  in  the  English  Parliament  waxed 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  261 

warm  over  the  necessity  of  asserting  the  royal  prerog- 
ative by  an  active  campaign  in  America.  Edmund 
Burke,  the  eloquent  champion  of  the  colonies,  sarcasti- 
cally rebuked  his  fellow-Commoners  who  extolled  the 
strength  of  the  British  force  in  Boston.  Having  men- 
tioned the  American  generals,  Washington,  I>e,  and 
Putnam  by  name,  he  exclaimed  in  Parliament:  "  These 
men  know  much  more  of  your  army  than  your  return 
can  give  them.  They  coop  it  up,  besiege  it,  destroy 
it,  crush  it!  Your  officers  are  swept  off  by  the  rifles 
if  they  show  their  noses!  "  * 

Although  the  marauding  parties  which  the  British 
occasionally  sent  out  from  Boston  were  quickly  driven 
back  into  the  town  by  the  besiegers,  Washington  took 
added  precautions  in  November  against  a  general  attack 
on  his  lines,  for  after  the  cold  weather  set  in  there  was 
the  possibility  that  the  enemy  would  make  approaches 
on  the  ice.  A  strong  detachment  under  Putnam  was 
accordingly  ordered,  on  the  night  of  the  23rd,  to  break 
ground  at  Cobble  Hill.  The  men  laboured  until  dawn 
and  then  retired  without  having  received  a  single  shot 
from  Bunker  Hill  or  the  floating  batteries.  An  in- 
trenching party,  which  General  Heath  commanded, 
continued  the  works  on  the  following  night  and  was 
also  unmolested.  In  fact,  the  Cobble  Hill  fortification 
was  finished  early  in  December  "  without  the  least  in- 
terruption from  the  enemy."  The  New  Engla?id 
Chronicle  or  Essex  Gazette,  in  its  issue  of  December  14, 
1775,  said  of  this  stronghold  : 

"It  is  allowed  to  be  the  most  perfect  piece  of  fortification 
that  the  American  army  has  constructed  during  the  present 
campaign,  and  on  the  day  of  its  completion  was  named  Put- 
nam's impregnable  fortress." 

*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  vi.,  p.  100. 


262  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

A  writer  in  Sillimart s  Journal \n  1822,  in  comment- 
ing on  this  appellation,  "  impregnable  fortress,"  truly 
remarks : 

"  Every  fort  which  was  defended  by  that  General  [Putnam] 
might  be  considered  as  impregnable,  if  daring  courage  and 
intrepidity  could  always  resist  superior  force." 

For  the  defence  of  the  different  American  posts,  ad- 
ditional cannon  and  ammunition  were  sorely  needed. 
This  crying  want  was  supplied,  in  part,  by  the  fortun- 
ate capture  of  several  British  warships.  On  board  the 
ordnance-brig  Nancy,  which  Captain  Manly,  command- 
er of  the  American  armed  schooner  Lee,  compelled  to 
surrender,  was  a  large  and  valuable  assortment  of  mili- 
tary stores.  These  trophies,  including  a  thirteen-inch 
brass  mortar,  which  weighed  nearly  three  thousand 
pounds,  were  carried  to  Cambridge.  There  the  mortar 
was  placed  in  front  of  the  laboratory  on  the  Common, 
and  the  popular  and  unconventional  Putnam  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  jubilation.  Colonel  Stephen  Moylan, 
in  describing  the  happy  occasion,  wrote  to  Colonel 
Joseph  Reed  on  Monday,  December  5th: 

"  I  would  have  given  a  good  deal  that  you  was  here  [Cam- 
bridge] last  Saturday  when  the  stores  arrived  at  camp  ;  such 
universal  joy  ran  through  the  whole  as  if  each  grasped  victory 
in  his  hand  ;  to  crown  the  glorious  scene  there  intervened  one 
truly  ludicrous,  which  was  Old  Put  mounted  on  the  large  mortar 
which  was  fixed  in  its  bed  for  the  occasion,  with  a  bottle  of  rum 
in  his  hand,  standing  parson  to  christen,  while  godfather 
Mifflin,  [Quartermaster  General  Thomas  Mifflin]  gave  it  the 
name  of  Congress.  The  huzzas  on  the  occasion  I  dare  say  were 
heard  through  all  the  territories  of  our  most  gracious  sovereign 
in  this  Province."  * 


*  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Joseph  Reed,  by  W.  B.  Reed, 
vol.  i.,  p.  133. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  263 

Strong  works  were  planned  for  construction  at  Lech- 
mere's  Point,  and  thither  Putnam  went,  on  the  morning 
of  December  17th,  with  three  or  four  hundred  men  to 
break  ground  near  the  waterside  within  half  a  mile  of 
a  British  man-of-war. 

"  The  mist,"  says  a  contemporaneous  narrator  of  the  expedi- 
tion, "  was  so  great  as  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  discovering 
what  he  [Putnam]  was  about,  until  twelve,  when  it  cleared  up, 
and  opened  to  their  view  our  whole  party  at  the  point,  and 
another  at  the  causeway,  throwing  a  new  bridge  over  the  creek 
that  forms  the  Island  at  high  water.  The  Scarborough  ship-of- 
war  which  lay  off  the  point,  immediately  poured  in  upon  our 
men  a  broadside.  The  enemy,  from  Boston,  threw  many 
shells,  and  obliged  us  to  decamp  from  the  point,  with  two  men 
badly  wounded.  The  bridge,  however,  was  ordered  to  be 
raised  by  the  brave  old  General,  and  was  completed.  The 
garrison  of  Cobble  Hill  were  ordered  to  return  the  ship's  fire  ; 
which  they  did,  and  soon  obliged  her  to  heave  tight  upon  her 
springs,  and  to  cease  firing.  But  the  battery  in  New-Boston 
kept  up  the  fire  of  shells  till  twelve  o'clock  that  night.  Our 
party  at  the  point  renewed  their  work  in  the  evening,  and  con- 
tinued it  all  night.  This  morning  [December  18],  at  day-light, 
by  a  signal  of  two  rockets  from  Boston,  the  Scarborough 
weighed  anchor,  and  has  left  the  point  clear."  * 

Although  the  spadesmen,  after  resuming  work,  were 
exposed  to  a  renewed  discharge  of  shot  and  shells  from 
the  enemy's  land  batteries,  they  kept  steadily  at  their 
task.  Most  of  the  intrenching,  during  several  succes- 
sive days,  was  done  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
General  Heath,  for  Putnam's  duties  required  his  pre- 
sence elsewhere  a  part  of  the  time.  The  latter,  however, 
made  frequent  visits  to  Lechmere's  Point  to  inspect  the 
progress  of  the  work.     It  appears  that  Putnam's  eldest 

*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  iv.,  p.  313. 


264  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

son  was   assigned  to  the  command  of  a  squad  of  the 
workmen  here.     Cutter  *  relates  this  incident  : 

"  As  some  of  his  [Captain  Israel  Putnam,  Jr.]  men  were  one 
day  reclining  upon  the  greensward,  taking  some  refreshments, 
the  General  [Putnam]  coming  along,  cried  out — '  Up  in  a  mo- 
ment, or  you  are  all  dead  men  !  '  They  started  up  at  the  word, 
and  hasteued  to  their  work.  No  sooner  had  they  cleared  the 
way,  than  a  ball  from  the  enemy  ploughed  the  ground  where 
they  had  been  lying,  and  buried  itself  deep  in  the  earth.  It 
was  thus  necessary  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  to  the  side  of  the 
enemy  and  to  labour  in  a  constant  expectation  of  an  iron 
mandate  to  abandon  the  work." 

In  December  some  of  the  Connecticut  troops  caused 
much  trouble  in  camp  by  their  "  extraordinary  and 
reprehensible  conduct."  Those  whose  time  of  enlist- 
ment expired  the  first  of  that  month  were  very  uneasy 
to  leave  for  home,  and  some  of  them  did  so,  contrary  to 
Washington's  orders  for  them  to  stay  in  the  service  a 
little  longer  until  a  sufficient  number  of  the  militia- 
men of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  could  be 
called  in  to  supply  their  place. 

The  mutinous  men  met,  however,  with  a  prompt  re- 
buke from  the  patriotic  people  of  their  own  colony. 
Indeed,  so  severely  were  the  deserters  condemned  in 
Connecticut  that  some  of  them  decided  to  return  to 
Cambridge.  Putnam's  tactful  talks  with  the  men  did 
much  towards  quelling  the  mutiny,  and  in  this  work 
of  restoring  peace  he  found  an  efficient  helper  in  an 
old  comrade  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  Colonel 
Henry  Babcock  of  Rhode  Island. 

*  This  biographer  of  Putnam  errs  in  placing  the  incident  at 
Cobble  Hill.  The  British  fired  no  cannon  at  the  fortification 
there,  from  the  time  it  was  begun  until  it  was  finished.  The 
narrow  escape  of  the  men,  which  he  mentions,  seems  to  have 
occurred  at  Lech  mere's  Point. 


i776]  Besieging  Boston  265 

When  the  reorganised  Continental  army  began  its 
new  term  on  January  I,  1776,  great  confusion  neces- 
sarily existed  on  account  of  the  changes  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  ranks.  This  critical  period  was  at 
length  successfully  passed,  but  the  January  thaws  and 
the  scanty  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition  prevented 
Washington  from  making  a  general  assault  on  the 
British  force.  Putnam  was  even  more  anxious  than 
the  Commander-in-chief  to  expel  the  enemy  from  Bos- 
ton ;  and  in  preparation  for  bombarding  the  town  his 
clever  resourcefulness  was  employed  in  increasing  the 
stock  of  cannon-balls.  His  ' '  ingenious  invention  ' '  for 
accomplishing  this  object  is  described  in  the  old  news- 
paper, the  Constitutional  Gazette : 

"He  [General  Putnam]  ordered  parties,  consisting  of  about 
two  or  three  of  his  men,  to  show  themselves  at  the  top  of  a 
certain  sandy  hill,  in  sight  of  the  King's  schooner,  Somerset,  in 
Boston  harbour,  but  at  a  great  distance,  in  hopes  that  the  cap- 
tain would  be  fool  enough  to  fire  at  them.  It  had  the  desired 
effect,  and  so  heavy  a  fire  ensued  from  this  ship  and  others, 
that  the  country  around  Boston  thought  the  town  was  attacked. 
By  this  he  obtained  several  hundred  balls  which  were  easily 
taken  out  of  the  sand." 

The  scarcity  of  powder  caused  Putnam  greater  solici- 
tude than  ever.  Said  Colonel  Moylan  to  Colonel  Reed 
in  a  letter  from  Cambridge  in  January  : 

"  The  bay  is  open  ;  everything  thaws  here  except  Old  Put. 
He  is  still  as  hard  as  ever,  crying  out  for  powder — powder, — 
ye  gods,  give  us  powder  !  " 

Although  no  general  assault  against  the  British  could 
be  undertaken,  several  enterprises  were  planned  in 
order  to  annoy  the  enemy.  On  the  evening  of  January 
8th,    Putnam  sent  Major  Knowlton,  with  about  two 


266  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

hundred  men,  to  set  fire  in  Charlestown  to  some  houses 
which  had  not  been  destroyed  by  the  conflagration  on 
the  day  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  to  bring  off 
the  guard  stationed  in  them.  General  Putnam  and  his 
staff,  who  were  spectators  of  the  affair  from  Cobble 
Hill,  were  much  amused  by  the  alarm  of  the  British 
garrison  on  Bunker  Hill  on  discovering  the  flames  of 
the  burning  buildings. 

"  The  flashing  of  the  musketry,"  says  a  member  of  Putnam's 
staff,  "  from  every  quarter  of  that  fort,  showed  the  confusion 
of  its  defenders, — firing,  some  in  the  air,  some  in  the  Mystic 
river  ;  in  short,  they  fired  at  random,  and  thought  they  were 
attacked  at  every  quarter,  which,  you  may  suppose,  gave  no 
small  pleasure  to  the  General  [Putnam]  and  a  number  of  us  who 
were  spectators  of  the  scene  from  Cobble  Hill.  Ten  of  the 
houses  were  soon  in  ashes.  The  sergeant  and  four  of  the  men, 
with  one  woman,  were  brought  off  prisoners."  * 

Towards  the  last  of  January,  the  alarming  news  of 
reverses  in  Canada  reached  Cambridge.  General  Rich- 
ard Montgomery,  after  capturing  Montreal,  had  joined 
Colonel  Benedict  Arnold,  who,  with  a  detachment  of 
the  army  around  Boston,  had  made  a  terrible  march 
through  the  wilderness  of  Maine  to  the  St.  Lawrence 
River.  The  united  forces  attacked  Quebec,  but  suf- 
fered a  disastrous  repulse.  Montgomery  was  killed, 
and,  on  account  of  the  strength  of  the  British,  there 
were  grave  apprehensions  that  Canada  must  be  relin- 
quished. In  this  critical  state  of  affairs,  the  Contin- 
ental Congress  urged  Washington  to  send  a  general 
to  take  the  chief  command  of  the  American  troops  in 
Canada  ;  for  General  Philip  Schuyler  at  Albany,  who 
was  in  charge  of  the  Northern  campaign,  thought  of 

*  Letter  dated  January  9,  1776,  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  vol.  xiv.,  p.  276. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  267 

resigning.  Washington's  reply  to  Congress,  dated 
January  30,  1775,  contains  a  reference  to  Putnam  which 
shows  us  his  estimate  of  that  officer  : 


"  I  wish  it  was  in  my  power,"  writes  "Washington,  "  to  fur- 
nish Congress  with  such  a  general  as  they  desire  to  send  to 
Canada.  Since  the  unhappy  reverse  of  our  affairs  in  that  quar- 
ter, General  Schuyler  has  informed  me,  that,  though  he  had 
thoughts  of  declining  the  service  before,  he  would  now  act. 
.  .  .  General  Putnam  is  a  most  valuable  man  and  a  fine 
executive  officer  ;  but  I  do  not  know  how  he  would  conduct  in 
a  separate  department.  He  is  a  younger  major-general  than 
Mr.  Schuyler,  who,  as  I  have  observed,  having  determined  to 
continue  in  the  service,  will,  I  expect,  repair  into  Canada." 

At  Cambridge,  where  Putnam  was,  after  all,  retained, 
affairs  took  a  favourable  turn  in  February.  The  weeks 
of  enforced  inactivity  of  the  army  beleaguering  Boston 
seemed  about  to  end,  for  not  only  had  additional  regi- 
ments of  militiamen  arrived  in  camp,  but  large  supplies 
of  ammunition,  which  the  different  colonies  sent,  had 
been  received.  Offensive  measures  were,  moreover, 
made  possible  by  the  remarkable  energy  of  Colonel 
Henry  Knox,  who, 

"with  an  enterprise  and  perseverance  that  elicited  the  warmest 
commendations,  had  brought  from  Crown  Point  and  Ticonde- 
roga,  over  frozen  lakes  and  almost  impassable  snows,  more 
than  fifty  cannon,  mortars,  and  howitzers." 

It  was  now  determined  to  take  possession  of  Dorches- 
ter Heights  in  order  to  bring  on  a  general  action  or  to 
force  the  enemy  from  Boston.  Preparatory  steps  were 
accordingly  taken  to  fortify  this  position,  which  would 
command  "  a  great  part  of  the  town  and  almost  the 


268  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

whole  harbour."     Captain   John  Chester,  in  a  letter 
dated  February  13th,  writes  :  * 

"  Yesterday  the  Generals  went  on  to  Dorchester  Hill  &  Point 
to  view  &  plan  out  the  works  to  be  done  there,  Knox  and  Grid- 
ley  were  with  them.  .  .  .  Gen.  Putnam  says  Gridley  laid 
out  w7orks  enough  for  our  whole  army  for  two  years  if  the  frost 
was  to  continue  in  that  time  &  in  short  thinks  we  cannot  do 
much  to  purpose  there  while  the  frost  is  in  ye  ground." 

Chester  tells  of  the  needless  alarm  of  members  of  the 
party  at  Dorchester,  and  how  Putnam  coolly  gave 
kindly  assistance  to  the  lame  engineer  while  the  others 
were  fleeing  for  their  lives  : 

"Something  droll  Happen'd  as  they  were  on  the  Point  & 
within  call  of  the  Enemy.  They  observed  two  officers  on  full 
speed  on  Horses  from  the  Old  to  the  New  lines  &  concluded 
they  were  about  to  order  the  Artillery  levelled  at  them.  Just 
that  instant  they  observed  a  fellow  Deserting  from  us  to  them. 
This  set  'em  all  a-running  &  Scampering  for  life  except  the 
lame  Col.  Gridley  &  Putnam,  who  never  runs  &  tarried  to  wait 
on  Gridley.  They  had  left  their  Horses  half  a  mile  back  & 
fear'd  the  enemy  might  attempt  to  encompass  them." 

In  the  same  letter,  Chester  mentions  Putnam's  recent 
narrow  escape  at  Cambridge  from  a  musket-ball  : 

"Sunday  night  [February  n]  as  Putnam  was  passing  by 
[Harvard]  Colledge  and  on  the  west  side  the  street,  a  Centry 
hailed  from  the  far  part  of  the  Colledge  Yard.  He  could  not 
think  he  called  to  him  as  he  had  y*  moment  passd  one  &  given 
ye  Corr  [correct]  Sign  &  was  just  that  minute  hailed  by  another. 
However  the  Centry  in  ye  Yard  not  finding  an  answer  up  & 
fired  as  direct  as  he  could  at  the  Gen!  which  providentially 
escaped  him  tho'  he  heard  the  ball  whistle." 


*  Original  letter   printed  in   the  Magazine    of  American 
History ',  vol.  viii.,  p.  127. 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  269 

The  difficulties  which,  on  account  of  frozen  ground, 
beset  the  execution  of  plans  for  fortifying  Dorchester 
Heights  were  finally  overcome  by  the  ingenuity  of 
Rufus  Putnam,  Israel's  kinsman,  who  was  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  Brewer's  Massachusetts  regiment,  and  who 
had  been  actively  and  efficiently  employed  in  laying 
out  defences  around  Boston.  This  officer,  of  marked 
ability  for  engineering,  who  had  attracted  Washing- 
ton's special  attention,  proposed  that  "chandeliers" 
be  erected  on  Dorchester  Heights.  These  were  de- 
fences made  of  stout  timbers,  ten  feet  long,  into  which 
were  framed  posts  five  feet  high  and  five  feet  apart, 
placed  on  the  ground  in  parallel  lines  and  the  open 
spaces  filled  in  with  bundles  of  fascines,  strongly 
picketed  together,  thus  forming  a  movable  parapet  of 
wood  instead  of  earth.  The  plan  for  the  "  chan- 
deliers "  was  at  once  adopted. 

On  Saturday  night,  March  2,  1776,  Boston  was 
bombarded  from  Cobble  Hill,  Lechmere's  Point,  and 
Lamb's  Dam,  Roxbury.  The  cannonade  was  con- 
tinued on  three  successive  nights  ;  and,  while  the 
attention  of  the  British  was  occupied  by  it,  the  Ameri- 
cans made  extensive  preparations  to  take  possession  of 
Dorchester  Heights.  On  Monday  night,  March  4th, 
General  Thomas,  with  two  thousand  men,  marched 
thither  to  begin  the  fortifications.  By  four  o'clock  on 
Tuesday  morning  two  forts  were  sufficiently  advanced 
in  construction  to  offer  good  protection  against  small 
arms  and  grape-shot.  So  extensive  and  formidable 
did  the  "  rebel  defences"  appear,  that  General  Howe 
believed  that  he  must  either  evacuate  Boston  or  drive 
the  Americans  from  their  new  position.  Having  de- 
cided, for  the  sake  of  British  honour,  to  attempt  the 
latter    alternative,    he   ordered   twenty-four    hundred, 


270  Israel  Putnam  [i775- 

men,  under  Karl  Percy,  to  embark  in  transports,  ren- 
dezvous at  Castle  William,  and  attack  the  newly  raised 
fortifications. 

The  movements  of  the  enemy  were  watched  with  in- 
tense interest  by  the  Americans.  While  the  defenders 
of  the  Dorchester  Heights  awaited  the  coming  of  the 
British,  four  thousand  men  belonging  to  the  best-dis- 
ciplined part  of  the  American  army  were  under  parade 
at  Cambridge,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  No.  2.  It 
was  intended  that  this  fine  detachment,  which  General 
Putnam  commanded,  should  make  the  long-proposed 
attack  on  Boston. 

This  plan  to  capture  Boston  while  the  main  body  of 
British  troops  was  attacking  Dorchester  Heights  had 
been  decided  upon  at  a  Council  of  War  which  was  held 
at  Washington's  headquarters  about  the  first  day  of 
March.  Cutter  says  that  when  the  project  was  under 
discussion  on  that  occasion, 

"General  Putnam,  who  was  always  restless,  and  more  dis- 
posed to  action  than  to  deliberation,  was  continually  going  to 
the  door  and  the  windows  to  see  what  was  passing  without. 
At  length  General  Washington  said  to  him  with  some  earnest- 
ness, '  Sit  down,  General  Putnam,  we  must  have  your  advice 
and  counsel  in  this  matter,  where  the  responsibility  of  its  exe- 
cution is  devolved  upon  you.'  'Oh,  my  dear  General,'  he 
replied,  '  you  may  plan  the  battle  to  suit  yourself,  and  I  will 
fight  it.'  » 

But  the  four  thousand  picked  men  who,  on  March 
5th,  were  "  headed,"  as  Washington  wrote  Colonel 
Reed,  "  by  Old  Put,"  and  who  stood  ready  to  make  a 
descent  upon  the  north  side  of  Boston  as  soon  as  the  Dor- 
chester Heights  should  be  assailed  by  the  enemy,  did 
not  have  the  opportunity  of  advancing  into  the  town. 
Such  a  high  wind  and  furious  surf  arose  in  the  after- 


1776]  Besieging  Boston  271 

noon  that  the  British  General  Howe  found  it  impossible 
to  assault  the  works  on  the  Heights,  and,  after  several 
days  of  further  delay  on  account  of  boisterous  weather 
and  heavy  rains,  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  his  plan. 
Meanwhile  the  Americans  strengthened  their  defences 
and  pushed  their  batteries  nearer  Boston  on  the  Dor- 
chester side.  The  possession  of  Nook's  Hill,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  decision  of  a  Council  of  War  which 
was  held,  March  13th,  at  General  Ward's  quarters  in 
Roxbury,  and  at  which  Putnam  was  present,  placed  the 
British  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  besiegers.  The 
roar  of  cannon  and  mortars  taught  Howe  the  necessity 
of  increased  expedition  in  his  preparations  for  leaving 
Boston,  and,  on  the  morning  of  March  17th,  it  was 
discovered  that  he  had  begun  to  embark  his  troops. 
The  following  account  of  the  evacuation,  published  in 
the  Pennsylvania  Eve?iing  Post,  March  30,  1776,  is  one 
of  the  best  original  sources  of  information  in  regard  to 
the  events  of  this  memorable  Sunday  : 

"  March  17.  This  morning  the  British  army  in  Boston,  under 
General  Howe,  consisting  of  upwards  of  seven  thousand  men, 
after  suffering  an  ignominious  blockade  for  many  months  past, 
disgracefully  quitted  all  their  strongholds  in  Boston  and  Charles- 
town,  fled  from  before  the  army  of  the  United  Colonies,  and 
took  refuge  on  board  their  ships.  The  most  material  particu- 
lars of  this  signal  event  are  as  follows :  About  nine  o'clock  a 
body  of  the  regulars  were  seen  to  march  from  Bunker's  Hill, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  very  great  number  of  boats,  filled  with 
troops,  put  off  from  Boston  and  made  for  the  shipping,  which 
lay  chiefly  below  the  Castle  [William].  On  the  discovery  of 
these  movements,  the  continental  army  paraded  ;  several  regi- 
ments embarked  in  boats  and  proceeded  down  the  river  from 
Cambridge.  About  the  same  time  two  men  were  sent  to  Bun- 
ker's Hill  in  order  to  make  discoveries.  They  proceeded 
accordingly  and,  when  arrived,  making  a  signal  that  the  fort 


272  Israel  Putnam  [1775-76] 

was  evacuated,  a  detachment  was  immediately  sent  down 
from  the  army  to  take  possession  of  it.  The  troops  on  the 
river,  which  were  commanded  by  General  Putnam,  landed 
at  Sewall's  Point,  where  they  received  intelligence  that  all  the 
British  troops  had  left  Boston,  on  which  a  detachment  was 
sent  to  take  possession  of  the  town,  while  the  main  body  re- 
turned up  the  river.  About  the  same  time  General  Ward, 
attended  by  about  five  hundred  troops  from  Roxbury,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Learned,  who  embarked 
and  opened  the  gates,  entered  the  town  on  that  quarter,  Ensign 
Richards  carrying  the  standard. 

"The  command  of  the  whole  being  then  given  to  General 
Putnam,  he  proceeded  to  take  possession  of  all  the  important 
posts,  and  thereby  became  possessed,  in  the  name  of  the  Thir- 
teen United  Colonies  of  North  America,  of  all  the  fortresses  in 
that  large  and  once  populous  and  flourishing  metropolis,  which 
the  flower  of  the  British  army,  headed  by  an  experienced  gen- 
eral and  supported  by  a  formidable  fleet  of  men-of-war,  had, 
but  an  hour  before,  evacuated  in  the  most  precipitate  and  cow- 
ardly manner.  God  grant  that  the  late  worthy  inhabitants  now 
scattered  abroad  may  speedily  re-occupy  their  respective  dwell- 
ings, and  never  more  be  disturbed  by  the  cruel  hand  of  tyranny  ; 
and  may  the  air  of  that  capital  be  never  again  contaminated  by 
the  foul  breath  of  Toryism." 

It  was  a  most  hearty  welcome  that  Putnam  and  his 
men  received  in  Boston  from  the  patriotic  citizens  ! 


CHAPTER    XIX 


FORTIFYING   NEW  YORK 


1776 

FTER  the  evacuation  of  Boston  the  Brit- 
ish sailed  a  short  distance  to  Nantasket 
Road  and  there  in  the  outer  harbour 
they  lingered  for  ten  days.  Wash- 
ington was  greatly  embarrassed  by  this 
stay  of  the  fleet  and  suspected  that  the 
enemy  might  have  "  some  design  of  aiming  a  blow  at 
us  before  they  depart."  He  therefore  ordered,  "in 
the  strongest  terms  imaginable,"  certain  precautionary 
measures,  one  of  which  was  this: 

"The  General  officers  in  their  several  departments  are  to 
take  care  that  proper  Alarm  posts  are  assigned  every  corps, 
that  no  confusion  or  disorder  may  ensue,  in  case  we  should  be 
called  out :  In  a  particular  manner  Generals  Putnam  and  Sul- 
livan are  to  attend  to  those  of  the  Center  and  Left  division."  * 

But  General  Howe,  instead  of  attempting  to  recover 
his  lost  position,  only  demolished  the  fortifications  on 
Castle  William,  and  on  March  27,  1776,  put  out  to  sea 
with  the  greater  part  of  his  force.  The  commercial 
and  strategical  importance  of  New  York  made  Wash- 
ington positive  that  the  enemy  were  bound  for  that 

*  Orderly  Book,  24  March,  1776. 
273 


274  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

place  and  he  determined  to  forestall  them  by  forward- 
ing detachments  thitherward  without  delay.  He  sent 
Putnam  to  assume  the  chief  command  in  the  city  and 
to  push  forward  the  fortifications  already  planned  and 
partly  executed  by  General  Charles  Lee,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  go  there  from  Cambridge  in  January,  1776, 
to  begin  a  defensive  system.  The  change  from  Boston 
to  New  York  was  in  many  ways  a  marked  one  for  Put- 
nam. He  now  came  in  contact  with  customs  and  tradi- 
tions, aristocratic  tendencies  and  conservative  forms  of 
government  that  were  in  decided  contrast  to  the  demo- 
cratic inclinations  of  the  New  England  people.  The 
Tories  constituted  a  large  proportion  of  the  New  York 
population  of  twenty-six  thousand,  and  the  bitterness 
of  feeling  which  existed  between  them  and  the  Revolu- 
tionary party  made  the  position  of  executive  com- 
mander in  the  city  exceedingly  difficult.  A  strong  hand 
was  needed,  in  the  interests  of  the  patriotic  cause,  to 
put  in  operation  vigorous  precautionary  measures 
against  disturbance  and  surprise,  to  guard  the  City 
Records  and  other  property,  and  to  maintain  a  strict 
watch  upon  the  movements  of  spies  and  disaffected  in- 
habitants.* Putnam  was  equal  to  the  duties  of  his 
important  trust,  as  appears  from  the  martial  law  which 
he  at  once  enforced. 

"General  Putnam  arrived  at  New  York  from  the  camp  at 
Cambridge  last  Wednesday  evening  [April  4],"  writes  Samuel 
Hawke  to  Job  Winslow.  "On  Friday  he  issued  an  order  en- 
joining the  soldiers  to  retire  to  their  barracks  and  quarters  at 
tattoo-beat,  and  to  remain  their  until  the  reveille  is  beaten. 


*  The  General  Orders  of  Putnam,  issued  at  this  time,  are 
printed  in  Force's  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  v. 
See  also  Archives  of  the  State  of  New  York,  The  Revolutiony 
vol.  i. 


1776]  Fortifying  New  York  275 

He  also  desired  the  inhabitants  to  observe  the  same  rule,  and 
to-day  [April  8]  he  says  that  it  has  become  absolutely  necessary 
that  all  communication  between  the  fleet  *  and  the  shore  should 
immediately  be  stopped,  and,  for  that  purpose,  has  given  posi- 
tive orders  that  the  ships  shall  no  longer  be  furnished  with 
provisions.  Any  inhabitants  or  others  who  shall  be  taken  that 
have  been  on  board,  near  any  of  the  ships,  or  going  on  board 
after  the  publication  of  the  order,  will  be  considered  as  enemies 
and  treated  accordingly." 

On  the  third  day  after  his  arrival  at  New  York,  Put- 
nam addressed  a  letter  to  President  John  Hancock  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  in  which  he  mentioned  his 
plans  for  the  protection  of  the  city  and  gave  an  account 
of  the  capture  of  a  boat's  crew  on  Staten  Island.  On 
the  very  next  night  after  writing  the  letter,  Putnam 
proceeded  to  fortify  Governor's  Island  and  also  Red 
Hook,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Brooklyn  peninsula. 
By  bringing  these  two  places  into  line  with  the  series 
of  forts  which  General  Lee,  before  taking  charge  of  the 
Southern  Department  in  March,  had  planned,  and 
which  Lord  Stirling,  Putnam's  immediate  predecessor 
in  command  of  New  York,  had  partly  constructed  on 
both  banks  of  the  East  River  from  the  "  Battery  "  to 
Hell  Gate,  it  was  expected  that  the  passage  of  that 
river  would  be  made  more  secure.  The  guns  on  the 
Brooklyn  Heights  and  in  the  new  works  at  Governor's 
Island  and  at  Red  Hook,  together  with  those  of  the  re- 
doubts which  guarded  the  southern  end  of  Manhattan 
Island,  could  menace  the  British  vessels  then  in  New 
York  harbour,  and  the  fleet  from  Boston  as  soon  as  it 


*  The  fleet  here  referred  to  was  not  the  one  which  sailed  from 
Boston  after  the  evacuation  of  that  city,  but  a  fleet  composed 
of  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  Asia,  and  other  British  ships,  which 
had  been  in  New  York  harbour  several  weeks. 


276  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

arrived.  Putnam  even  hoped  to  close  the  North  or 
Hudson  River  to  the  enemy  by  batteries  at  various 
points  and  by  obstructions  in  the  channel.  With  all 
speed  he  sent  Major  Sherburne  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress at  Philadelphia  for  an  appropriation  of  "  at  least 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars,"  the  army  being  "  in 
the  highest  need  of  an  immediate  supply  of  cash."* 
The  vigilant  General  urgently  entreated  the  New  York 
Committee  of  Safety  for  additional  regiments  to  build 
and  defend  the  proposed  works,  and  then,  without 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  new  levies,  he  began  to 
carry  out  his  aggressive  policy  by  employing  such 
troops  as  were  available.  Colonel  Gold  Selleck  Silli- 
man  of  the  4th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia 
describes  Putnam's  seizure  of  Governor's  Island  : 

''Tuesday  Morning,  9th  April  [1776] — Last  Evening  Draughts 
were  made  from  a  Number  of  Regiments  here,  mine  among  the 
Rest,  to  the  Amount  of  1,000  Men.  With  these  and  a  proper 
Number  of  Officers  Genl  Putnam  at  Candle  lighting  embarked 
on  Board  of  a  Number  of  Vessels  with  a  large  Number  of  in- 
trenching Tools  and  went  directly  on  the  Island  a  little  below 
the  City  called  Nutten  [Governor's  Island],  where  they  have 
been  intrenching  all  Night  and  are  now  at  work,  and  have  got 
a  good  Breast  Work  there  raised  which  will  cover  them  from 
the  fire  of  the  Ships  ;  and  it  is  directly  in  the  Way  of  the  Ship 
coming  up  to  the  Town.  The  Asia  has  fallen  down  out  of  Gun 
Shot  from  this  Place,  and  it  deprives  the  Ships  of  the  only 
Watering  Place  they  have  here  without  going  down  toward  the 
Hook."  f 

Putnam  had  been  in  chief  command  at  New  York 


*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  vol.  v.,  pp.  787, 
843.  The  Continental  Congress  granted  the  amount  which 
Putnam  sent  for. 

f  Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society \  vol.  iii., 
p.  66. 


1776]  Fortifying  New  York  177 

nearly  ten  days  when  Washington  arrived  on  April 
13th.  The  latter,  after  personally  inspecting  the 
various  positions  which  had  been  taken  for  the  defence 
of  the  city,  urged  on  the  works.  The  American  force 
present  for  duty  numbered  about  ten  thousand  men. 
Several  regiments,  in  consequence  of  an  order  from 
Congress,  were  soon  forwarded  as  a  reinforcement  to 
Canada;  then  the  troops  at  New  York  were  formed  into 
four  brigades  under  Generals  Heath,  Spencer,  Stirling, 
and  Greene.  Putnam  himself  was  continued  in  the 
general  superintendence  of  the  fortifications  in  process 
of  construction.  As  a  result  of  the  occupation  of  Gov- 
ernor's Island  and  Red  Hook,  it  was  decided  to  enlarge 
the  plan  for  the  Brooklyn  works,  and  Greene  was  ac- 
cordingly ordered  to  cross  with  his  brigade  to  Long 
Island  and  to  throw  up,  across  the  neck  of  the  penin- 
sula, a  new  line  of  defences  from  Wallabout  Bay  (the 
present  Navy  Yard)  to  the  Gowanus  Marsh.  The 
other  brigades  laboured  at  the  batteries  in  and  about 
New  York  City.  All  the  streets  of  New  York  leading 
up  from  the  water  were  fortified  by  barricades,  some  of 
which  were  built  of  mahogany  logs  taken  from  West 
India  cargoes.  For  additional  protection  to  the  city,  an 
"  American  Navy,"  made  up  of  schooners,  sloops,  row- 
galleys,  and  whale-boats,  was  put  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin  Tupper,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  a  naval  exploit  or  two  in  Boston 
Harbour  during  the  siege.  One  craft  in  this  primitive 
little  fleet  was  named  General  Putnam,  and  had  as  its 
captain  Thomas  Cregier. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  May,  but  the  British 
vessels  which  left  Boston  after  the  evacuation  in 
March  had  not  yet  appeared  off  New  York  harbour. 
In   this  critical    period    of    preparation    against    the 


278  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

expected  coming  of  the  enemy,  Washington  was  sum- 
moned by  Congress  for  consultation  in  regard  to  the 
campaign,  and  Putnam  was  again  placed  in  chief  com- 
mand at  New  York.  He  kept  the  absent  Washington 
fully  informed  in  regard  to  affairs.  His  letters  — in 
every  instance  the  body  of  the  letter  is  in  Aide-de- 
camp Webb's  handwriting  —  cover  a  period  of  two 
weeks,  for  Washington  was  gone  that  length  of  time. 
Before  May  ended,  Putnam  reported,  among  other 
details  from  New  York,  that  the  signals  on  Staten 
Island,  Green  Bluff,  and  Governor's  Island,  concerning 
which  Washington  had  given  careful  instructions,  were 
completed,  and  that  Iyord  Stirling,  Colonel  Rufus  Put- 
nam, and  "  one  officer  from  the  train  "  had  gone  up  the 
North  River  to  put  the  fortifications  in  the  Highlands 
into  "  a  fit  and  proper  posture  of  defence."  "  I  am 
driving  on  the  works  with  all  possible  dispatch,"  wrote 
Putnam,  referring  to  what  was  being  done  in  the  city 
itself,  "  and  shall  pay  particular  attention  to  your  Ex- 
cellency's directions  in  regard  to  sending  an  express  in 
case  of  a  fleet  appearing  on  the  coast." 

Dispatches  from  General  Schuyler,  announcing  an 
American  defeat  at  the  Cedars  in  Canada,  reached 
New  York  on  June  1st  ;  and  on  the  same  day  five  ves- 
sels appeared  off  Sandy  Hook,  three  of  which  Putnam 
thought  were  men-of-war.  A  messenger  was  sent  in 
hot  haste  to  Philadelphia  with  the  news.  Washington 
hurried  back  to  New  York,  for  the  "  exigency  of 
affairs  "  seemed  to  render  his  presence  there  extremely 
necessary.  Before  he  arrived,  the  vessels  which  had 
been  sighted  off  Sandy  Hook  proved  not.  to  be  the 
British  fleet,  and  consequently  the  excitement  had,  in  a 
great  degree,  subsided.  But  the  "  state  of  peace  and 
quiet  "  in  which  he  found  the  city  was  only  temporary, 


i7/6]  Fortifying  New  York  279 

for  the  old  rivalries  between  Whigs  and  Tories  had 
been  growing  stronger  and  stronger,  and  the  bitterness 
of  feeling,  already  shown  towards  the  loyalists,  was  to 
have  a  serious  outbreak.  On  Thursday,  June  13th, 
Pastor  Shewkirk,  of  the  Moravian  Church  of  New 
York,  recorded  in  his  diary  : 

"  Here  in  town  very  unhappy  and  shocking  scenes  were 
exhibited.  On  Monday  night  some  men  called  Tories  were 
carried  and  hauled  about  through  the  streets,  with  candles 
forced  to  be  held  by  them,  or  pushed  in  their  faces,  and  their 
heads  burned  ;  but  on  Wednesday,  in  the  open  day,  the  scene 
was  by  far  worse  ;  several,  and  among  them  gentlemen,  were 
carried  on  rails  ;  some  stripped  naked  and  dreadfully  abused. 
Some  of  the  generals  and  especially  Pudnam  [Putnam]  and 
their  forces,  had  enough  to  do  to  quell  the  riot,  and  make  the 
mob  disperse."  * 

The  strain  of  exacting  duties,  day  after  day,  in  put- 
ting down  public  disturbances,  in  pushing  forward  the 
work  of  fortifying,  and  in  keeping  a  sharp  outlook  for 
the  enemy,  was  relieved  for  Putnam  by  his  attendance 
at  an  occasional  banquet,  where  he  was  always  a  wel- 
come guest  because  of  his  jolly  good  nature  and  ready 
response  to  a  call  for  a  song.  A  festive  event  is  men- 
tioned by  Captain  Caleb  Gibbsof  Washington's  Guard, 
in  a  letter  to  his  "  Dear  Penelope  "  : 

"June  18  [1776].  This  afternoon,  the  Provincial  Congress 
of  New  York  gave  an  elegant  entertainment  to  General  Wash- 
ington and  his  suite,  the  general  and  staff  officers,  and  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  different  regiments  in  and  near  the 
city.  Many  patriotic  toasts  were  offered  and  drank  with 
the  greatest  pleasure  and  decency.     After  the  toasts,  little  Pbil, 

of  the  Guard,  was  brought  in  to  sing  H 's  new  campaign 

song,  and  was  joined  by  all  the  under  officers,  who  seemed 

*  Document  37,  in  Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Historical 
Society,  vol.  iii. 


280  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

much  animated  by  the  accompanj'ing  of  Clute's  drumsticks 
and  Aaron's  fife.  Our  good  General  Putnam  got  sick  and  went 
to  his  quarters  before  dinner  was  over,  and  we  missed  him  a 
marvel,  as  there  is  not  a  chap  in  the  camp  who  can  lead  him  in 
the  Maggie  Lauder  song." 

On  June  22nd,  Major  Aaron  Burr  was  appointed  aide- 
de-camp  to  Putnam,  to  take  the  place  of  Webb,  who  had 
been  promoted  to  a  similar  position  under  Washington. 
Young  Burr,  now  in  his  twenty-first  year,  had  accom- 
panied Arnold  through  Maine  to  Canada,  and  since  his 
return  from  that  fearful  expedition,  in  which  he  had 
displayed  great  courage,  he  had  been  living  at  Wash- 
ington's headquarters  in  New  York,  where  he  was 
invited  to  stay  until  a  "  suitable  appointment  could  be 
procured  for  him."  During  his  six-weeks'  association 
with  the  Commander-in-chief,  Burr  contracted,  such 
prejudices  against  Washington  that  he  purposed  to 
retire  from  military  service,  but  he  was  dissuaded  from 
doing  so  by  President  Hancock  of  Congress,  who  ob- 
tained for  him  the  appointment  under  Putnam.  In  his 
new  position  Burr  was  perfectly  content,  and  nearly  a 
year  afterwards  he  could  speak  of  himself  as  being  still 
"  happy  in  the  esteem  and  entire  confidence  of  my  good 
old  General."  How  little  Putnam  knew  that  this 
valued  aide,  of  fascinating  manners  and  brilliant  talent, 
was  to  play,  in  the  later  history  of  America,  a  most 
sensational  part  because  of  unscrupulous  principles  ! 

June  wore  slowly  towards  its  end,  and  the  Americans 
were  as  busy  as  ever  in  strengthening  their  defences 
and  in  watching  for  a  hostile  armament.  The  whole 
American  camp  was  soon  greatly  startled  by  the  dis- 
covery of  an  "  infernal  plot  "  which  was  "  on  the  verge 
of  execution."  Says  Surgeon  William  Kustis,  a  warm 
friend  of  Putnam  ; 


i776]  Fortifying  New  York  281 

"Every  General  Officer  and  every  other  who  was  active  in 
serving  his  country  in  the  field  was  to  have  been  assassinated  ; 
our  cannon  were  to  be  spiked  up ;  and  in  short  the  most  ac- 
cursed scheme  was  laid  to  give  us  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
and  to  ruin  us." 

A  dozen  or  more  of  the  conspirators  were  immediately 
arrested  and  imprisoned  ;  and  Thomas  Hickey  of 
Washington's  Guard,  who  had  been  bribed  by  Tory 
money  and  who  had  seduced  others  "  for  the  most  hor- 
rid and  detestable  purposes,"  was  sentenced  to  death  and 
forthwith  hanged.  The  "  Hickey  Plot "  was  disclosed 
most  opportunely,  for  on  June  29th,  the  second  day 
after  the  execution  of  the  ringleader,  forty-five  vessels 
hove  in  sight  off  Sandy  Hook  and  were  reported  by  the 
American  signal  stations.  Additional  expresses  came 
to  the  city,  telling  of  other  ships  that  had  appeared  off 
the  coast;  and,  within  four  days,  more  than  a  hundred 
men-of-war  and  transports  had  dropped  anchor  in  the 
Narrows.  The  fleet  continued  to  swell,  for  General 
Howe,  instead  of  sailing  directly  from  Boston  to  New 
York,  had  made  a  voyage  to  Halifax,  and  now,  with 
his  brother,  Admiral  Richard  Howe,  he  arrived  in 
command  of  a  force  so  formidable  that  the  Yankees  in 
New  York  were  expected  to  be  frightened  into  accept- 
ing the  terms  of  reconciliation  which  he  had  been 
authorised  to  offer  them. 

On  July  4,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress  at  Phila- 
delphia adopted  a  measure  that  put  reconciliation  out 
of  the  question.  Five  days  afterwards  all  the  brigades 
in  New  York  were  drawn  up  on  their  respective  parade- 
grounds  to  listen  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ; 
and  "  loud  huzzas" — Old  Put's  lungs  did  him  good 
service  in  leading  the  patriotic  shouts  —  interrupted  at 
intervals  the  reading  of  the  bold  document. 


282  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

The  proximity  of  the  threatening  armament  de- 
manded offensive  methods  for  the  protection  of  the  city, 
and  the  resourceful  Putnam  was  planning  to  spread 
destruction  among  the  British  ships  at  the  Narrows  by 
means  of  fire-crafts,  and  also  to  complete  the  obstruc- 
tions in  the  Hudson  with  a  contrivance  of  his  own. 
To  General  Horatio  Gates,  who  had  been  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  Northern  Department,  Putnam 
wrote  on  July  26th,  telling  what  he  purposed  to  do  : 

"The  enemy's  fleet  now  lies  in  the  bay  very  safe,  close  under 
Staten  Island.  Their  troops  possess  no  land  here  but  the 
Island.  Is  it  not  very  strange,  that  those  invincible  troops, 
who  were  to  destroy  and  lay  wast  all  this  country  with  their 
fleets  and  army,  are  so  fond  of  islands  and  peninsulas,  and  dare 
not  put  their  feet  on  the  main  ?  But,  I  hope,  by  the  blessing 
of  God  and  good  friends  we  shall  pay  them  a  visit  on  their 
island.  For  that  end,  we  are  preparing  fourteen  fire-ships  to 
go  into  their  fleet,  some  of  which  are  ready  charged  and  fitted 
to  sail,  and  I  hope  soon  to  have  them  all  fixed.  We  are  pre- 
paring chevaux-de-frise,  at  which  we  make  great  dispatch  by 
the  help  of  ships,  which  are  to  be  sunk;  a  scheme  of  mine 
which  you  may  be  assured  is  very  simple,  a  plan  of  which  I 
send  you.  The  two  ships'  sterns  lie  towards  each  other,  about 
seventy  feet  apart.  Three  large  logs,  which  reach  from  ship 
to  ship,  are  fastened  to  them.  The  two  ships  and  logs  stop  the 
river  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  The  ships  are  to  be  sunk, 
and,  when  hauled  down  on  one  side,  the  picks  will  be  raised  to 
a  proper  height,  and  they  must  inevitably  stop  the  river  if  the 
enemy  will  let  us  sink  them." 

But  Putnam  met  with  various  delays  in  carrying  out 
his  plan  for  completing  the  obstructions  in  the  Hudson. 
On  August  18th,  before  the  hulks  could  be  suuk  in  the 
river,  near  Fort  Washington,  the  Rose  and  the  Phoenix, 
two  of  the  enemy's  ships-of-war  that  had  taken  advant- 
age of  a  brisk  breeze  and  sailed  up  the  Hudson  as  far 


i776]  Fortifying  New  York  283 

as  Tappati  Bay,  moved  down  the  river,  and  returned  to 
the  Narrows  as  readily  as  they  came  up. 

In  turning  his  attention  from  the  river  to  the  harbour, 
Putnam  soon  found  that  his  fire-ships  could  do  little 
damage  to  the  British  fleet  in  the  entrance  to  New  York 
Bay,  and  he  became  greatly  interested  next  in  the  in- 
vention of  an  ingenious  Connecticut  man.  This  was  a 
submarine  torpedo  which  the  General  thought  could 
be  used  with  disastrous  effect  against  the  enemy. 
David  Humphreys,  who  appears  to  have  been  with 
Putnam  at  this  time,  gives  us  an  account  of  the 
machine,  which,  because  of  its  resemblance  to  a  large 
sea-turtle,  was  named  "  The  American  Turtle."  Says 
Humphreys  : 

"  General  Putnam,  to  whom  the  direction  of  the  whale-boats, 
fire-rafts,  flat-bottomed  boats,  and  armed  vessels,  was  com- 
mitted, afforded  his  patronage  to  a  project  for  destroying  the 
enemy's  shipping  by  explosion.  A  machine,  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  anything  hitherto  devised  by  the  art  of  man,  had 
been  invented  by  Mr.  David  Bushnell,  for  sub-marine  naviga- 
tion, which  was  found  to  answer  the  purpose  perfectly,  of  row- 
ing horizontally  at  any  given  depth  under  water,  and  of  rising 
and  sinking  at  pleasure.  To  this  machine,  called  the  American 
Turtle,  was  attached  a  magazine  of  powder,  which  was  intended 
to  be  fastened  under  the  bottom  of  a  ship,  with  a  driving  screw, 
in  such  sort,  that  the  same  stroke  which  disengaged  it  from  the 
machine,  should  put  the  internal  clock-work  in  motion.  This 
being  done,  the  ordinary  operation  of  a  gun-lock  at  the  distance 
of  half  an  hour,  an  hour,  or  any  determinate  time,  would  cause 
the  powder  to  explode,  and  leave  the  effects  to  the  common 
laws  of  nature.  The  simplicity,  yet  combination  discovered  in 
the  mechanism  of  this  wonderful  machine,  were  acknowledged 
by  those  skilled  in  physics,  and  particularly  hydraulics,  to  be 
not  less  ingenious  than  novel.  The  inventor,  whose  constitu- 
tion was  too  feeble  to  permit  him  to  perform  the  labour  of  row- 
ing the  Turtle,  had  taught  his  brother  to  manage  it  with  perfect 


284  Israel  Putnam  [1776 

dexterity  ;  but  unfortunately  his  brother  fell  sick  of  a  fever 
just  before  the  arrival  of  the  fleet.  Recourse  was  therefore 
had  to  a  sergeant  in  the  Connecticut  troops  ;  who,  having  re- 
ceived whatever  instructions  could  be  communicated  to  him  in 
a  short  time,  went,  too  late  in  the  night,  with  all  the  apparatus, 
under  the  bottom  of  the  Eagle ,  a  sixty-four  gun  ship,  on  board 
of  which  the  British  Admiral,  I,ord  Howe,  commanded. 

"In  coming  up,  the  screw  that,  had  been  calculated  to  per- 
forate the  copper  sheathing,  unluckily  struck  against  some  iron 
plates,  where  the  rudder  is  connected  with  the  stern.  This 
accident,  added  to  the  strength  of  the  tide  which  prevailed,  and 
the  want  of  adequate  skill  in  the  sergeant,  occasioned  such 
delay  that  the  dawn  began  to  appear,  whereupon  he  abandoned 
the  magazine  to  chance,  and  after  gaining  a  proper  distance 
for  the  sake  of  expedition  rowed  on  the  surface  toward  the 
town.  General  Putnam,  who  had  been  on  the  wharf  anxiously 
expecting  the  result  from  the  first  glimmering  of  light,  beheld 
the  machine  near  Governor's  Island  and  sent  a  whaleboat  to 
bring  it  on  shore.  In  about  twenty  minutes  afterwards  the 
magazine  exploded  and  blew  a  vast  column  of  water  to  an 
amazing  height  in  the  air." 

The  consternation  which  the  explosion  caused  both 
on  shore  and  on  board  the  British  vessel,  afforded  Put- 
nam and  other  officers  great  amusement. 

"  General  Putnam  and  others  who  waited  with  great  anxiety 
for  the  result,"  writes  Dr.  James  Thatcher,  another  contem- 
porary, in  referring  to  the  same  experiment  with  the  ''American 
Turtle,"  "  were  exceedingly  amused  with  the  astonishment  and 
alarm  which  this  secret  explosion  occasioned  on  board  of  the 
ship.  This  failure,  it  is  confidently  asserted,  is  not  to  be  at- 
tributed to  any  defect  in  the  principles  of  this  wonderful 
machine ;  as  it  is  allowed  to  be  admirably  calculated  to  exe- 
cute destruction  among  the  shipping."  * 

But  no  further  attempts  to  destroy  the  enemy's  ves- 
sels with  this  "  wonderful  machine"  appear  to  have 
been  made. 


*  Military  Journal,   p.  64. 


i776]  Fortifying  New  York  285 

By  midsummer  the  British  transports  and  men-of- 
war  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  nearly  three  hundred 
in  all,  were  increased  by  a  fleet,  bringing  the  united 
forces  of  General  Henry  Clinton  and  Earl  Cornwallis, 
who  had  failed  to  capture  the  city  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and  by  ships  having  on  board  a  large  body 
of  British  Guards,  besides  eight  thousand  Hessians. 
These  reinforcements,  like  the  troops  preceding  them, 
disembarked  on  Staten  Island,  and  there  went  into 
camp.  The  army  of  General  Howe  now  numbered 
more  than  thirty-one  thousand  men,  rank  and  file. 

Among  the  British  officers  on  Staten  Island  was 
Major  James  MoncriefFe,  the  comrade  of  the  earlier  war, 
with  whom  Putnam  had  renewed  friendship  at  the  time 
of  the  exchange  of  prisoners  at  Charlestown  in  June, 
1775,  and  to  whom  he  sent  gifts  of  provisions  during  the 
siege  of  Boston.  Although  he  was  related  by  marriage 
to  Governor  William  Livingston  of  New  Jersey,  Lord 
Stirling,  and  other  Americans  of  high  station  who  had 
espoused  the  patriotic  cause,  Moncrieffe  still  adhered  to 
the  Crown.  His  daughter  Margaret,  a  "  witty,  viva- 
cious, piquant  and  beautiful"  girl,  nearly  fourteen  years 
of  age,  was  at  this  time  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.  She 
was  very  anxious  to  visit  her  father  on  Staten  Island, 
but  found  herself  sadly  prevented  by  the  milita^  lines. 
Her  father  wrote  to  Putnam,  soliciting  a  pass  for  her. 
In  addressing  the  letter,  however,  he  omitted  the  title 
of  "  General,"  for  he,  like  every  other  British  officer, 
considered  all  Americans  in  arms  rebels  without  valid 
commissions.  Margaret,  in  fear  that  her  father's  re- 
quest would  be  denied  because  of  his  refusal  to  recognise 
the  official  rank  of  Putnam,  wrote  to  the  latter,  begging 
him  to  overlook  the  omission  of  the  proper  title.  Put- 
nam received  her  note  in  New  York,  and  his  reply  was 


286  Israel  Putnam  [r776 

prepared  for  his  signature  by  the  hand  of  his  new  aide- 
de-camp,  Burr.  Here  is  the  letter  from  the  magnani- 
mous General  to  the  young  girl  : 

"New-York,  July  26,  1776. 

"I  should  have  answered  your  letter  sooner,  but  had  it  not 
in  my  power  to  write  you  anything  satisfactory. 

"The  omission  of  my  title  in  Major  Moncrieffe's  letter  is  a 
matter  I  regard  not  in  the  least  ;  nor  does  it  in  any  way  influ- 
ence my  conduct  in  this  affair  as  you  seem  to  imagine.  Any 
political  difference  alters  him  not  to  me  in  a  private  capacity. 
As  an  officer  he  is  my  enemy,  and  obliged  to  act  as  such,  be  his 
private  sentiments  what  they  will.  As  a  man  I  owe  him  no 
enmity  ;  but,  far  from  it,  will  with  pleasure  do  any  kind  office 
in  my  power  for  him  or  any  of  his  connections. 

"  I  have,  agreeably  to  your  desire,  waited  on  his  Excellency 
to  endeavour  to  obtain  permission  for  you  to  go  to  Staten-Island. 
He  informs  me  that  Lieutenant-Colonel  Patterson,  who  came 
with  the  last  flag,  said  he  was  empowered  to  offer  the  exchange 
of  James  L,ovell  for  Governor  [Philip]  Skene  [of  Skenesboro', 
now  Whitehall,  N.  Y.].  As  the  Congress  have  reserved  to 
themselves  the  right  of  exchanging  prisoners,  the  General  has 
sent  to  know  their  pleasure  and  doubts  not  they  will  give  their 
consent.  I  am  desired  to  inform  you  that  if  this  exchange  is 
made,  you  will  have  liberty  to  pass  out  with  Governor  Skene  ; 
but  that  no  flag  will  be  sent  solely  for  that  purpose. 

"Major  William  Livingston  was  lately  here  and  informed 
me  that  you  had  an  inclination  to  live  in  this  city  ;  and  that  all 
the  ladies  of  your  acquaintance  having  left  town,  and  Mrs. 
Putnam  and  two  daughters  being  here,  proposed  your  staying 
with  them.  If  agreeable  to  you,  be  assured,  Miss,  you  shall  be 
sincerely  welcome.  You  will  here,  I  think,  be  in  a  more  prob- 
able way  of  accomplishing  the  end  you  wish,  that  of  seeing 
your  father;  and  may  depend  upon  every  civility  from,  Miss, 
your  obedient  servant, 

"Israel  Putnam."  * 


*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  i.,  p.  471. 


1776]  Fortifying  New  York  287 

Putnam's  wife  and  two  daughters,  who  are  mentioned 
in  the  foregoing  letter,  appear  to  have  arrived  several 
weeks  before  at  the  General's  New  York  headquarters, 
at  the  Kennedy  house,  No.  i  Broadway.  Margaret 
Moncrieffe  accepted  the  cordial  invitation  to  come  here 
and  live  in  the  family  until  arrangements  could  be 
made  for  sending  her  to  Staten  Island.  An  officer  was 
sent  to  conduct  her  to  the  city  ;  and  we  have,  in  her 
own  words,*  the  story  of  her  experiences  in  her  new 
surroundings  : 

"  When  I  arrived  in  Broadway  (a  street  so  called),  where 
General  Putnam  resided,  I  was  received  with  great  tenderness 
by  Mrs.  Putnam  and  her  daughters,  and  on  the  following  day  I 
was  introduced  by  them  to  General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  who 
likewise  made  it  their  study  to  show  me  every  mark  of  regard  ; 
but  I  seldom  was  allowed  to  be  alone,  although  sometimes, 
indeed,  I  found  an  opportunity  to  escape  to  the  gallery  on  the 
top  of  the  house,  where  my  chief  delight  was  to  view  with  a 
telescope  our  fleet  and  army  on  Staten  Island.  My  amuse- 
ments were  few  ;  the  good  Mrs.  Putnam  employed  me  and  her 
daughters  constantly  to  spin  flax  for  shirts  for  the  American 
soldiers,  indolence  in  America  being  totally  discouraged ;  and 
I  likewise  worked  for  General  Putnam,  who,  though  not  an 
accomplished  muscadin,  like  our  dilettanti  of  St.  James's 
Street,  was  certainly  one  of  the  best  characters  in  the  world  ; 
his  heart  being  composed  of  those  noble  materials  which  equally 
command  respect  and  admiration." 

After  dinner  one  day,  when  Washington  was  present, 
the   loyalist  girl   declined  to  join  in    a   toast   to   the 


*  The  Personal  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Margaret  {Moncrieffe) 
Coghlan  were  written  in  1793.  Her  life  has  been  made  the 
subject  of  a  historical  novel,  entitled  Margaret  Moncrieffe : 
The  first  love  affair  of  Aaron  Burr,  by  Charles  Burdett.  For 
her  career,  see  Parton's  Life  of  Aaron  Burr  and  Sabiue's 
Loyalists  of  the  American  Revolution. 


288  Israel  Putnam 


[1776 


Continental  Congress  and  proposed,  instead,  one  to 
General  Howe.  The  whole  company,  she  relates,  was 
somewhat  disconcerted  by  this"  affront,"  but,  she  adds, 
"  my  good  friend,  General  Putnam,  as  usual,  apolo- 
gised, and  assured  them  I  did  not  mean  to  offend." 
The  fascinating  little  Tory  was  forthwith  forgiven  on 
condition  that  she  should  drink  to  the  health  of  General 
Washington  or  General  Putnam  the  first  time  she  dined 
at  General  Howe's  table. 

On  Wednesday,  August  7th,  Margaret  was  permitted 
to  go  in  a  barge  from  New  York  to  see  her  father.  She 
tells,  with  romantic  femininity,  what  happened  at  the 
British  headquarters  on  Staten  Island  : 

"  When  my  name  was  announced,  the  British  commander-in- 
chief  sent  Colonel  Sheriff  with  an  invitation  from  Sir  William 
Howe  to  dinner,  which  was  necessarily  accepted.  When  intro- 
duced I  cannot  describe  the  emotion  I  felt ;  so  sudden  the 
transition  in  a  few  hours  that  I  was  ready  to  sink  into  the  earth  ! 
Judge  the  distress  of  a  girl  not  fourteen  obliged  to  encounter 
the  curious  inquisitive  eyes  of  at  least  forty  or  fifty  people  who 
were  at  dinner  with  the  general.  Fatigued  with  their  fastidi- 
ous compliments,  I  could  only  hear  the  buzz  among  them,  say- 
ing, '  She  is  a  sweet  girl,  she  is  divinely  handsome  ' ;  although 
it  was  some  relief  to  be  placed  at  table  next  to  the  wife  of 
Major  Montresor,  who  had  known  me  from  my  infancy. 
Owing  to  this  circumstance  I  recovered  a  degree  of  confidence  ; 
but,  being  unfortunately  asked,  agreeable  to  military  etiquette, 
for  a  toast,  I  gave  '  General  Putnam.'  Colonel  Sheriff  said,  in 
a  low  voice,  '  You  must  not  give  him  here '  ;  when  Sir  William 
Howe  complaisantly  replied,  '  O  !  by  all  means  ;  if  he  be  the 
lady's  sweetheart  I  can  have  no  objection  to  drink  his  health.' 
This  involved  me  in  a  new  dilemma ;  I  wished  myself  a  thou- 
sand miles  distant,  and,  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  company, 
I  gave  to  the  general  a  letter  that  I  had  been  commissioned  to 
deliver  from  General  Putnam,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy. 
(And  here  I  consider  myself  bound  to  apologise  for  the  bad 
spelling  of  my   most   excellent  republican  friend.     The  bad 


1776]  Fortifying  New  York  289 

orthography  was  amply  compensated  for  by  the  magnanimity 
of  the  man  who  wrote  it)  : 

"  '  Ginrale  Putnam's  compliments  to  Major  Moncrieffe,  has 
made  him  a  present  of  a  fine  daughter,  if  he  don't  lick  [like] 
her  he  must  send  her  back  again,  and  he  will  previde  her  with 
a  good  twig  husband.' 

"The  substitution  of  twig  for  whig  husband  served  as  a 
fund  of  entertainment  for  the  whole  company." 

In  connection  with  Putnam's  humourous  allusions  to 
the  willingness  of  his  family  to  have  Margaret  again 
with  them,  it  is  interesting  to  find  that  she  returned 
soon  afterwards  from  Staten  Island  to  New  York. 

Despite  the  oppressive  August  weather,  Putnam 
continued  to  be  an  exceedingly  busy  man.  He  was 
constant  in  attendance  at  early  prayers  at  the  Grand 
Battery — so  General  Henry  Knox  tells  us — and  after  the 
morning  duties,  which  were  performed  under  a  cl  sun 
hot  enough  to  roast  an  egg,,}  he  would  often  have  some 
of  the  principal  officers  at  dinner  with  him  at  his  head- 
quarters, where  he  offered  always  a  most  cordial  hos- 
pitality. The  brigades  forming  Putnam's,  Spencer's, 
and  Sullivan's  division,  with  the  Connecticut  militia, 
were  retained  in  August  within  the  city  and  its  imme- 
diate vicinity.  Of  Heath's  division,  Mifflin's  brigade 
was  posted  at  Fort  Washington,  at  the  upper  end  of 
Manhattan  Island,  and  George  Clinton's  at  Kings- 
bridge.  Greene's  division  —  Nixon's  and  Heard's 
brigades,  with  the  exception  of  Prescott's  regiment 
and  Nixon's,  now  under  his  brother,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Thomas  Nixon,  which  were  on  Governor's 
Island — occupied  the  Long  Island  front. 

The  suspense  of  the  Americans  daily  increased.  The 
hostile  troops  on  Staten  Island  seemed  to  be  ready  to 


290  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

move  forward  at  any  moment  against  New  York  ;  yet 
it  was  uncertain  where  they  would  make  their  first  at- 
tack. Meanwhile  General  Gates  of  the  Northern  De- 
partment had  abandoned  Crown  Point  on  the  approach 
of  a  British  force  from  Canada.  He  took  post  at 
Ticonderoga,  and  began  to  put  that  place  in  a  proper 
condition  for  defence.  From  there  Gates  sent  a  charac- 
teristic letter  to  Putnam,  bantering  him  about  the  old 
fort  which  he  had  helped  to  build  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  and  inquiring  in  regard  to  affairs  at  New 
York: 

"Tyonderoga,  August  11,  1776. 

"Dear  Put  :  Every  fond  mother  dotes  upon  her  booby,  be 
his  imperfections  ever  so  glaring,  and  his  good  qualities  ever 
so  few.  Crown-Point  was  not  indeed  your  own  immediate  off- 
spring, but  you  had  a  capital  hand  in  rearing  the  baby.  You 
cut  all  the  logs,  which  are  now  rotten  as  dirt,  and  tumbled  in 
the  dust.  No  matter  for  that.  .  Why  should  you  not  be  fond 
of  Crown-Point  ?  If  I  live  to  be  as  old  as  you  I  shall  be  as  fond 
of  Tyonderoga.  I  can  assure  you  I  fancy  already  that  my 
booby  is  a  great  deal  handsomer  than  yours,  and  has  a  thou- 
sand excellencies  more  than  yours  ever  possessed.  But  don't 
be  uneasy,  the  absurdities  of  your  booby  time  will  very  soon 
obliterate  ;  but  mine  will  live  for  some  future  great  engineer, 
like  myself,  to  laugh  at  and  despise. 

"Joking  apart:  Have  you  blown  up  Staten  Island?  Have 
you  burnt  the  enemy's  fleet?  Have  you  sent  the  two  brothers 
[General  Howe  and  Admiral  Howe]  to  Hartford  [American  jail 
for  British  prisoners]  ?  What  have  you  and  what  have  you  not 
done?  Sense,  courage,  honour,  and  abilities,  you  know  to  be 
the  great  outlines  of  a  General.  My  friend  Tom  Mifflin  [Brig- 
adier-General Thomas  Mifflin]  has  an  uncommon  share  of  all 
four.  Present  my  affectionate  compliments  to  him.  I  shall 
preserve  your  letter  [probably  Putnam's  letter  of  July  26,  1776, 
about  fire-ships  and  the  chevaux-de-frise\  for  a  winter  evening's 
subject  when  we  three  meet  again. 

"Remember  me  affectionatelv,  as  vou  ought,  and  believe 


1776]  Fortifying  New  York  291 

me,   veteran,   your    sincere   well-wisher  and  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

11  Horatio  Gates."  * 

Gates's  letter,  half  jocular,  half  serious,  reached 
Putnam  at  a  crisis  in  the  campaign  when  his  courage 
and  abilities  were  about  to  be  put  to  the  severest  test. 


Force,  American  Archives,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  i.,  p.  900. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE   BATTLE   OF   LONG   ISLAND 


I776 


reported  that 
sailed." 


UTNAM  had  spent  much  of  the  time  for 
several  weeks  in  moving  up  and  down 
New  York  harbour,  to  keep  vigilant 
watch  of  the  enemy.  On  the  morning 
of  August  17,  1776,  he  landed  in  great 
haste  at  one  of  the  city  wharves  and 
at  least  one-fourth  of  the   fleet  had 


"  But  where,"  wrote  Adjutant-General  Joseph  Reed  in  a  letter 
that  day,  "  we  are  at  a  loss  to  judge  or  whether  there  may  not  be 
a  mistake  by  their  shifting  their  station.  If  they  are  really  gone, 
one  of  two  objects  must  be  in  view,  either  to  go  round  Long 
Island  and  attempt  to  get  above  us  in  order  to  cut  us  off  from 
the  country  or  proceed  around  to  the  Delaware.  I  do  not  know 
any  measure  they  could  take  which  would  so  effectually  dis- 
concert and  injure  us  as  the  latter."  *     ■ 

Several  days  later  the  main  body  of  troops  on  Staten 
Island  seemed  to  be  preparing  to  make  an  aggressive 
movement.  Washington  was  now  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  British   intended  to  land  above  the  city,  in 


*  Life  and  Correspondence  of  foseph  Reed,  by  W.  B.  Reed, 
vol.  i.,  p.  216. 

292 


1776]       The  Battle  of  Long  Island        293 

order  to  hem  in  his  army  at  the  lower  end  of  Manhat- 
tan Island.  He  therefore  sent  word  on  August  22nd  to 
General  Heath,  a  part  of  whose  force  was  at  Kings- 
bridge,  to  be  ready  to  move  down  in  case  of  an  attack. 
Washington,  in  the  same  message,  promised  to  send 
him  some  artillery, 

"if,"  he  stated,  "we  have  not  other  employment  upon  hand, 
which  General  Putnam,  who  is  this  instant  come  in,  seems  to 
think  we  assuredly  shall  have  this  day,  as  there  is  a  consider- 
able embarkation  on  board  of  the  enemy's  boats."  * 

It  was  soon  evident  that  the  British  purposed  to  cross 
with  the  main  army  from  Staten  Island  to  Long  Island. 
Before  noon,  on  August  22nd,  fifteen  thousand  royal 
troops  were  transported  across  the  Narrows  to  Graves- 
end  Bay,  and  two  days  later  this  force  was  increased 
by  five  thousand  Hessians.  At  the  American  head- 
quarters there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
design  of  the  enemy  who  had  left  Staten  Island.  Some 
of  the  officers  thought  that  a  direct  advance  would  be 
made  by  the  whole  force  against  the  Brooklyn  works  ; 
others  feared  that  the  landing  on  Iyong  Island  was  only 
a  feint  to  draw  off  our  troops  to  that  side  and  that  the 
main  attack  would  be  on  New  York.  In  this  time  of 
doubt  one  thing  was  obvious  to  Washington,  that  it 
would  be  imprudent  to  run  any  risk  on  the  Brooklyn 
side,  and  he  accordingly  sent  six  regiments  to  reinforce 
the  garrison  on  the  Heights.  Soon  after,  Washington 
himself  crossed  over  to  Long  Island.  He  found  the 
British  occupying  a  line  from  the  coast  through  Graves- 
end  to  Flatlands,  with  an  advanced  division  encamped 
in  front  of  the  American  outpost  at  the  Flatbush  Pass. 


*  Writings  of  George  Washington,  ed.  by  W.  C.  Ford,  vol.  iv. 


294  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

This  hostile  attitude  convinced  the  Commander-in- 
chief  that  the  Brooklyn  garrison  should  be  again  re- 
inforced. On  his  return  to  New  York  he  dispatched 
four  more  regiments  and,  feeling  that  a  change  in  the 
general  command  on  Long  Island  was  desirable,  he 
appointed  Putnam  to  supersede  Major-General  Sulli- 
van, who  had  been  filling  the  place  of  the  fever-stricken 
Greene.  As  for  the  reasons  for  this  new  order  of 
things,  whereby  Putnam  was  given  the  general  com- 
mand across  the  river  while  Sullivan  was  placed  in 
subordinate  control  of  Long  Island,  we  have  this  state- 
ment by  Adjutant-General  Reed  : 

"On  General  Green's  being  sick,  Sullivan  took  the  com- 
mand, who  was  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  ground  or 
country.  Some  movements  being  made  which  the  General 
[Washington]  did  not  approve  entirely,  and  finding  a  great 
force  going  to  Long  Island,  he  sent  over  Putnam,  who  had 
been  over  occasionally  ;  this  gave  some  disgust  [to  Sullivan], 
so  that  Putnam  was  directed  to  soothe  and  soften  [him]  as  much 
as  possible."  * 

The  veteran  Putnam,  quick  *to  detect  at  a  distance 
the  first  sound  of  skirmishing  on  Long  Island,  had 
been  all-impatient  to  be  at  the  front.  He  crossed  to 
the  Brooklyn  Heights  on  the  morning  of  August  24th, 
immediately  after  receiving  his  appointment  to  the 
command.  Said  Reed  in  a  letter  from  New  York  that 
day  to  his  wife  : 

"  While  I  am  writing  there  is  a  heavy  firing  and  clouds  of 
smoke  rising  from  the  wood  [on  Long  Island].  General  Put- 
nam was  made  happy  by  obtaining  leave  to  go  over — the  brave 
old  man  was  quite  miserable  at  being  kept  here." 


*  T.  Sedgwick,  Life  of  William  Livingston  ;  letter  of  Reed 
to  Governor  Livingston. 


1776]       The  Battle  of  Long  Island        295 

Old  Put  was  received  with  loud  cheers  on  his  arrival 
at  the  Brooklyn  Heights,  and  his  presence  inspired 
universal  confidence.  He  found  that  nearly  one-third 
of  the  American  army  of  nineteen  thousand  men  was 
on  that  side,  for  the  force  there  included  not  only 
Greene's  division  but  the  whole  of  Nixon's  and 
Heard's  Brigades  (the  two  regiments  on  Governor's 
Island  excepted),  the  greater  part  of  Stirling's  and 
Parsons's,  and  half  of  Scott's  and  Wadsworth's. 

The  General,  accompanied  by  Aide-de-camp  Burr, 
made  an  inspection  of  the  chain  of  defences  which  had 
been  built,  during  the  summer,  between  the  Wallabout 
Cove  and  the  Gowanus  Marsh.  On  the  right  of  the 
road  which  led  up  from  the  Ferry  were  Fort  Greene 
and  Fort  Box  ;  on  the  left  were  the  Oblong  Redoubt, 
Fort  Putnam  (probably  named  after  Col.  Rufus  Put- 
nam, who,  as  chief  engineer,  had  marked  out  the  prin- 
cipal lines  on  Long  Island),  and  a  redoubt  on  the  left 
of  Fort  Putnam.  These  five  works  were  connected  by 
a  line  of  intrenchments.  Beyond  the  Brooklyn  Heights 
rose  a  ridge  of  hills,  extending  from  New  York  Bay 
midway  through  L,ong  Island  to  its  eastern  end.  The 
thick  growth  of  woods  and  thickets,  which  covered 
the  entire  surface  of  this  ridge,  seemed  to  present  such 
a  continuous  barrier  to  any  approach  by  the  enemy 
from  the  plains  where  they  were  camped,  that  the 
Americans  hoped  to  be  able  to  hold  the  ground  against 
superior  numbers.  Several  passes  through  the  natural 
depressions  of  the  wooded  ridge  needed  to  be  guarded 
with  care.  The  one  nearest  the  coast  was  on  the 
Gowanus  Road,  which  led  to  the  Narrows;  another  was 
on  the  Flatbush  Road,  which  cut  through  the  ridge  at  a 
distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  Brooklyn  fortifica- 
tions ;  a  third  pass  lay  still  farther  to  the  east  on  the 


296  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

road  from  Bedford  to  Flatbush  ;  and  the  fourth,  known 
as  the  Jamaica  Pass,  was  nearly  four  miles  away,  be- 
yond the  extreme  left  of  the  American  position.  It 
does  not  appear  that  Putnam,  on  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
changed  any  of  the  arrangements  which  Sullivan  had 
already  made  for  the  defence  of  the  Coast  Road,  the 
Flatbush  Pass,  and  the  Bedford  Road,  but  left  to  him 
the  disposition  of  the  troops  at  these  outposts. 

On  August  25th  Washington  sent  written  instruc- 
tions to  Putnam,  expressing  his  disapproval  of  the 
random  firing  of  the  skirmishers  at  the  outposts,  and 
giving  careful  directions  in  regard  to  the  precautions 
to  be  taken,  especially  in  the  wood  next  to  Red  Hook, 
bordering  the  Gowanus  Creek,  against  the  anticipated 
attack  by  the  British.  So  heartily  and  efficiently  had 
Putnam  always  seconded  him  in  all  his  plans  and  pre- 
parations, that  the  Commander-in-chief  had  reason  to 
feel  that  his  orders  would  be  followed  out  to  the  letter. 

On  the  morning  of  August  26th  Washington  again 
crossed  to  Long  Island.  He  spent  a  busy  and  anxious 
day,  for  he  was  now  certain  that  the  enemy  intended 
' '  to  make  their  grand  push  there. ' '  Towards  eveni ng, 
accompanied  by  Putnam,  Sullivan,  and  other  officers, 
he  rode  down  to  the  outpost  near  Flatbush  to  observe 
the  hostile  force  encamped  in  front  of  that  pass,  and 
it  was  here,  according  to  the  testimony  of  one  of  the 
American  soldiers,  that  the  Commander-in-chief  and 
his  companions  were  seen  "  looking  at  the  enemy  with 
their  field-glasses."  As  a  result  of  the  reconnoissance, 
Washington,  immediately  on  his  return  to  New  York 
that  night  of  the  26th,  sent  over  an  additional  re- 
inforcement. This  raised  the  American  army  on  Long 
Island  to  a  total  of  about  seven  thousand.  Of  this 
number,  four  thousand  men  were  under  Putnam's  per- 


1776]       The  Battle  of  Long  Island        297 

sonal  command  behind  the  Brooklyn  works,  while 
Sullivan  had  the  immediate  charge  of  all  the  troops, 
nearly  three  thousand,  outside  the  fortified  lines. 
Three  passes  were  in  a  measure  provided  for,  but  far 
over  to  the  left  was  the  Jamaica  Road,  to  which  little 
attention  had  been  paid.  To  that  extremely  isolated 
place,  Sullivan,  exercising  the  same  authority  as  in 
making  other  details,  sent  out  on  the  evening  of  August 
26th  a  special  patrol  of  five  commissioned  officers.  This 
was  the  only  provision  made  for  guarding  the  pass.  In 
fact,  the  American  generals,  Washington  included,  ap- 
parently felt  little  apprehension  of  an  attack  from  that 
direction.  They  thought  the  main  body  of  the  British 
would  try  to  force  the  other  passes. 

It  was  evident  to  Putnam  and  the  principal  officers 
on  Long  Island  that  the  enemy  would  soon,  make  a 
strong  advance  movement,  but  the  approach  was  even 
more  "  sudden  and  violent  "  than  had  been  anticipated. 
The  battle  began  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
August  27th,  when  the  American  pickets  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Red  Lion  on  the  Gowanus  Road  were  attacked 
by  a  force  which  had  marched  up  from  the  Narrows. 
In  the  confusion  and  darkness  the  pickets  fell  back  be- 
fore their  assailants,  and  some  of  their  number  were 
taken  prisoners.  Brigadier-General  Samuel  H.  Parsons, 
who  was  in  chief  command  of  the  Gowanus  outpost, 
succeeded  in  rallying  some  of  the  men  and  posting  them 
advantageously  on  a  hill.  Meanwhile  news  of  the  at- 
tack had  been  quickly  carried  to  the  Brooklyn  camp. 
Putnam,  whom  Washington  had  instructed  to  hold 
the  outposts  "  at  all  hazards"  with  the  best  troops, 
awoke  Lord  Stirling  and  sent  him  with  a  reinforce- 
ment to  the  relief  of  the  pickets  and  to  check  the  ad- 
vance of  the  enemy.     This  officer,  who  had  arrived  in 


298  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

camp  two  days  before,  describes  the  occurrences  of  the 
memorable  morning  of  the  battle.     Says  Stirling  : 

"About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  27th,  I  was  called 
up  and  informed  by  General  Putnam  that  the  enemy  were 
advancing  by  the  road  from  Flatbush  to  the  Red  Lion.  He 
ordered  me  to  march  with  the  two  regiments  nearest  at  hand 
to  meet  them  ;  these  happened  to  be  Haslet's  and  Smallwood's, 
with  which  I  accordingly  marched  and  was  on  the  road  to  the 
Narrows  just  as  the  daylight  began  to  appear.  We  proceeded  to 
within  about  half  a  mile  of  the  Red  Lion  and  there  met  Colonel 
Atlee  with  his  regiment,  who  informed  me  that  the  enemy  were 
in  sight ;  indeed  I  then  saw  their  front  between  us  and  the  Red 
Lion.  I  desired  Colonel  Atlee  to  place  his  regiment  on  the 
left  of  the  road  and  to  wait  their  coming  up,  while  I  went  to 
form  the  two  regiments  I  had  brought  with  me,  along  a  ridge 
from  the  road  up  to  a  piece  of  wood  on  the  top  of  the  hill ;  this 
was  done  instantly  on  very  advantageous  ground.  Our  oppon- 
ents advanced  and  were  fired  upon  in  the  road  by  Atlee's,  who, 
after  two  or  three  rounds,  retreated  to  the  wood  on  my  left  and 
there  formed.  By  this  time  Kichline's  Riflemen  arrived  ;  part 
of  them  I  placed  along  a  hedge  under  the  front  of  the  hill  and 
the  rest  in  the  front  of  the  wood.  The  troops  opposed  to  me 
were  two  brigades  of  four  regiments  each,  under  the  command 
of  General  Grant,  who  advanced  their  light  troops  to  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  our  right  front,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  an  orchard  there  and  some  hedges  which  extended 
towards  our  left ;  this  brought  on  an  exchange  of  fire  between 
those  troops  and  our  Riflemen,  which  continued  for  about  two 
hours  and  then  ceased  by  those  light  troops  retiring  to  their 
main  body.  In  the  meantime  Captain  Carpenter  brought  up 
two  field-pieces,  which  were  placed  on  the  side  of  the  hill  so  as 
to  command  the  road  and  the  only  approach  for  some  hundred 
yards.  On  the  part  of  General  Grant  there  were  two  field- 
pieces,  one  howitz  advanced  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of 
the  front  of  our  right,  and  a  like  detachment  of  artillery  to  the 
front  of  our  left,  on  a  rising  ground,  at  about  six  hundred  yards 
distance.  One  of  their  brigades  formed  in  two  lines  opposite  to 
our  right,  and  the  others  extended  in  one  line  to  top  of  the 


1776]        The  Battle  of  Long  Island        299 

hills  in  the  front  of  our  left ;  in  this  position  we  stood  cannon- 
ading each  other  till  near  eleven  o'clock."  * 

While  Iyord  Stirling  and  the  British  General  Grant 
were  thus  opposing  each  other  in  regular  battle  forma- 
tion, another  struggle  had  begun  elsewhere.  The 
Americans  at  the  Flatbush  Pass  had  been  attacked. 
Under  the  lead  of  General  Sullivan,  they  were  trying 
to  block  the  advance  of  the  Hessians,  who  had  opened 
their  cannon  against  the  battery  at  that  outpost.  Back 
at  the  Brooklyn  lines  the  troops  were  drawn  up  within 
the  forts  and  behind  the  breastworks,  where,  since 
dawn,  every  preparation  had  been  made  to  repel  the 
British  in  case  they  penetrated  the  woods  and  ap- 
proached through  the  passes  and  down  the  Gowanus 
and  Flatbush  Roads.  So  gallant  a  defense,  however, 
were  Parsons' s,  Stirling's,  and  Sullivan's  men  making 
at  the  outposts,  that  there  seemed  to  be  good  prospect 
of  thwarting  the  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  move  forward 
from  the  plains  below.  And  now,  when  all  was  ap- 
parently going  well  with  the  Americans  and  they  were 
congratulating  themselves  along  the  hills  and  in  the 
woods  and  at  the  forts,  one  of  Colonel  Miles's  soldiers 
on  guard  near  the  Bedford  Road  came  hurrying  into  the 
Brooklyn  camp  and  reported  to  Putnam  that  infantry 
and  cavalry  were  marching  down  from  the  Jamaica 
Road.  The  startling  news  was  all  too  true.  A  few  mo- 
ments later  the  real  plans  of  the  enemy  were  disclosed. 

Iyittle  had  Putnam  and  the  other  American  generals 
suspected  that  the  hostile  demonstrations  before  the 
Gowanus  and  Flatbush  passes  were  only  feints  to  divert 
attention,  while  General  Howe,  with  General  Henry 
Clinton  and  Lords  Percy  and  Cornwallis,  conducted  the 


*  America n  Archives,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  i.,  p.  T245. 


300  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

main  body  of  the  British  army  far  around  by  way  of  the 
Jamaica  Pass.  The  long,  flanking  force  had  made  an 
all-night  march,  had  captured  the  special  patrol  of  five 
mounted  officers,  and  was  now  proceeding  down  from 
the  Jamaica  Road  in  order  to  place  itself  directly  in  the 
rear  of  the  American  outposts.  Fortunately  this  retro- 
grade movement  was  discovered  in  time  to  prevent  the 
powerful  column  from  cutting  off  entirely  the  retreat 
from  the  passes  ;  but  the  day  soon  became  one  of  great 
confusion  and  disaster  for  the  Americans.  The  guns  of 
the  British  flanking  force  notified  the  Hessians,  under 
De  Heister,  in  front  of  Flatbush,  and  also  the  troops 
whom  Grant  had  led  up  the  Gowanus  coast  road,  that 
the  time  had  come  for  real  action,  and  these  detach- 
ments accordingly  advanced  in  impetuous  onset.  The 
alarm  spread  along  the  American  line  and  a  wild 
struggle  ensued,  for  the  enemy's  flanking  column  was 
pushing  rapidly  forward  to  close  in  upon  the  rear  of 
the  patriot  troops.  The  imminent  danger  of  being 
wedged  in  between  the  hostile  forces  compelled  the 
men  at  the  passes  to  turn  and  fight  their  way  back  to 
the  Brooklyn  works.  Through  the  woods,  down  the 
slopes,  and  across  the  fields,  they  hurried.  Battalions 
soon  broke  up,  companies  could  not  be  kept  to- 
gether, and  the  soldiers,  some  singly,  some  in  groups, 
cut  their  way,  as  best  they  could,  towards  the  forts. 
Many  were  furiously  attacked  by  the  British  light  in- 
fantry ;  others  were  charged  upon  by  the  dragoons  ; 
and  still  others  were  pinned  to  the  ground  by  Hessian 
bayonets.  For  several  hours  the  woods  rang  with 
shouts  of  the  combatants  and  the  scene  was  one  of  hot 
and  bloody  excitement. 

From   the  Brooklyn  works,  where  Putnam  was,  a 
part  of  the  fierce  fighting  could  be  seen.     Most  thrill- 


1776]        The  Battle  of  Long  Island        301 

ing  was  the  sight  of  the  heroic  action  of  Smallwood's 
Maryland  troops,  under  Stirling.  Although  nearly 
hemmed  in  by  Cornwallis's  detachment,  which  had 
advanced  as  far  as  the  Cortelyou  House,  near  the  Go- 
wanus  Marsh,  they  faced  the  enemy  and  tried  to  secure 
the  retreat  of  the  other  Americans  across  the  Marsh 
into  the  camp.  At  the  time  that  Stirling,  who  "  fought 
like  a  wolf,"  was  leading  a  gallant  charge  against  the 
British,  Washington  crossed  from  New  York  to  Brook- 
lyn. He  was  deeply  moved  on  witnessing  the  bloody 
hand-to-hand  encounter  and  the  forced  retreat.  ' '  Good 
God  !  "  he  exclaimed  with  anguish,  "  what  brave  fel- 
lows I  must  this  day  lose  !  ' ' 

While  the  British  were  pressing  forward  towards  the 
Brooklyn  works,  driving  the  Americans  before  them, 
Putnam  was  occupied  in  passing  rapidly  among  the 
men  behind  the  defences  and  in  issuing  orders  right 
and  left  in  anticipation  of  the  assault  which  was  mo- 
mentarily expected.  One  of  the  New  York  militiamen 
at  the  intrenchments  was  a  native  of  Brooklyn.  His 
name  was  Remsen.  This  man  in  after  years  used  to 
tell,  among  his  reminiscences  of  the  battle,  a  story 
of  Putnam*  which,  according  to  the  statement  of  a 
listener,  Carson  Brevoort,  was  in  substance  as  follows  : 

"At  the  point  where  Mr.  Remsen  was  stationed,  the  em- 
bankment was  so  low  that  the  men  were  obliged  to  crouch 
behind  it  to  obtain  protection  from  the  British  fire  ;  and  when- 
ever the  enemy  approached  within  range  the  first  line  of  troops 
kneeled  to  aim  and  discharge  their  guns.  A  few  paces  in  the 
rear  of  the  firing  parties  Gen.  Putnam  was  constantly  stalk- 
ing back  and  forth,  at  every  return  enforcing  anew  his  favourite 
command,  which  Bunker  Hill  had  made  so  famous  :  '  Don't 
fire,  boys,  until  you  can  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes.'     The 


*  Memoirs  of  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  vol.  ii,  p.  222. 


3°2  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

eminent  success  of  this  injunction  in  that  battle  had  given  it  an 
importance  in  the  mind  of  the  old  Indian  fighter  which  quite 
justified  its  frequent  repetition  behind  the  Brooklyn  entrench- 
ments.    .     .     . 

"Near  that  part  of  the  line  where  Mr.  Remsen  lay  was  a 
group  that  attracted  his  attention,  because  he  felt  certain  that 
its  manoeuvres  would  cause  an  explosion  of  Putnam's  wrath  the 
moment  it  caught  his  eye.  A  soldier  of  one  of  the  Connecticut 
regiments  was  crouching  behind  the  breastwork  and  was  busily 
employed  in  loading  his  own  and  his  comrade's  gun,  which 
were  fired,  however,  only  by  the  latter,  a  Maryland  soldier, 
who  was  kneeling  to  rest  his  piece  upon  the  parapet  and  with 
deliberate  aim  picking  off  the  enemy's  troops.  This  partner- 
ship of  courage  and  poltroonery,  which  exposed  the  brave 
Marylander  without  intermission  while  his  comrade  was  reclin- 
ing in  perfect  safety,  at  length  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
promenading  General.  The  angry  blood,  which  fired  so  readily 
at  the  call  of  his  hot  temper,  flamed  in  an  instant  on  his  coun- 
tenance, and  with  a  few  quick  strides  he  reached  the  side  of 
the  couchant  hero,  who  remained  unconscious  of  the  proximity 
of  his  angry  General.  The  flat  side  of  his  sword  fell  with  sting- 
ing force  on  the  back  of  the  culprit  as  he  exclaimed,  '  Get  up, 
up  you  damned  coward,  and  fire  your  own  gun.'  " 

By  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  battle  was  ended, 
for  General  Howe,  having  profited  by  his  experience 
of  the  previous  year  at  Bunker  Hill,  did  not  attempt  to 
carry  the  works  by  storm.  Although  the  Americans 
thus  continued  to  hold  the  fortified  camp,  they  had 
been  disastrously  repulsed.  Four  hundred  patriots 
were  lying  either  dead  or  wounded  on  the  field,  and  at 
least  a  thousand,  among  whom  were  Generals  Stirling 
and  Sullivan,  had  been  taken  prisoners.  The  cause 
of  the  defeat  is  apparent  at  once.  The  flanking 
force  on  the  Jamaica  Road  outnumbered  the  whole 
American  army.  The  wonder,  as  historians  like  Mar- 
shall, Sparks,  Carrington,  and  Fiske  have  pointed  out, 


1776]        The  Battle  of  Long  Island        3°3 

is  not  that  five  thousand  half-trained  soldiers  were  de- 
feated by  twenty  thousand  veterans,  but  that  they 
should  have  given  General  Howe  a  hard  day's  work 
in  defeating  them,  thus  leading  the  British  general 
to  pause  and  giving  Washington  time  to  plan  the 
withdrawal  of  his  army  from  its  exposed  situation. 
The  responsibility  for  the  surprise  by  the  British 
flanking  march  on  the  Jamaica  Road  has  been  often 
discussed.  A  clear  and  true  statement  of  the  whole 
case  has  been  made  by  Prof.  Henry  P.  Johnston.  He 
succinctly  settles  the  controversy  thus  : 

"As  for  the  generalship  of  the  day,  if  the  responsibility 
falls  on  any  one,  it  falls  first  on  Sullivan,  who  sent  out  the 
mounted  patrol  in  the  first  instance,  and  to  whom  it  belonged 
to  follow  up  the  precautions  in  that  direction.  Putnam  was  in 
chief  command,  but  nothing  can  be  inferred  from  contempo- 
rary records  to  fasten  neglect  or  blunder  upon  him  any  more 
than  upon  Washington,  who,  when  he  left  the  Brooklyn  lines 
on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  must  have  known  precisely  what 
disposition  had  been  made  for  the  night  at  the  hills  and  passes. 
And  upon  Washington  certainly  the  responsibility  cannot  rest. 
According  to  some  of  our  more  recent  versions  of  this  battle, 
the  disaster  is  to  be  referred  to  the  willful  disobedience,  criminal 
inattention,  and  total  incapacity  of  General  Putnam.  Several 
writers  make  the  charge  so  pointedly  and  upon  such  an  array 
of  fact,  that  the  reader  is  left  to  wonder  how  all  this  should 
have  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Commander-in-chief  at  the 
time,  and  why  Putnam  was  not  immediately  court-martialled 
and  dismissed  the  service,  instead  of  being  continued,  as  he 
was,  in  important  command.  The  charge  is  the  more  serious 
as  it  is  advanced  by  so  respectable  an  authority  as  Mr.  Ban- 
croft. Mr.  Field,  Mr.  Dawson  and  Dr.  Stiles,  following  the 
latter,  incline  strongly  in  the  same  direction.     .     .     . 

"In  brief,  the  case  seems  to  be  this  :  On  the  night  of  the 
26th,  we  had  all  the  roads  guarded.  On  the  morning  of  the 
27th,  Putnam  promptly  reinforced  the  guards  on  the  lower  road 
when  the  enemy   were   announced.     The  arrangements  were 


304  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

such  that  if  an  attack  was  made  at  any  of  the  other  points,  he 
and  Sullivan  were  to  have  word  of  it  in  ample  time.  No  word 
came  in  time  from  the  left,  for  the  reason  that  those  who  were  to 
bring  it  were  captured,  or  surprised,  or  failed  of  their  duty. 
Hence  the  disaster.  The  dispositions  on  Long  Island  were 
quite  as  complete  as  those  at  Brandywine  more  than  a  year 
later,  where  we  suffered  nearly  a  similar  surprise  and  as  heavy 
a  loss.  Suppose  the  very  small  patrols  sent  out  by  Washington 
and  Sullivan  to  gain  information  before  that  battle  had  been 
captured,  as  at  Long  Island — we  should  have  sustained  a  greater 
disaster  than  at  Long  Island. 

11  Under  this  state  of  facts,  to  charge  Putnam  with  the  defeat 
of  the  27th,  in  terms  which  some  writers  have  employed,  is 
both  unjust  and  unhistorical.  That  misfortune  is  not  to  be 
clouded  with  the  additional  reflection,  that  it  was  due  to  the 
gross  neglect  and  general  incapacity  of  the  officer  in  command. 
No  facts  or  inferences  justify  the  charge.  No  one  hinted  it  at 
the  time ;  nor  did  Washington  in  the  least  withdraw  his  con- 
fidence from  Putnam  during  the  remainder  of  the  campaign."  * 


*  "Campaign  of  1776,"  in  Memoirs  of  Long  Island  His- 
torical Society.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  192-195. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A  FORCED   RETREAT 
1776 


NDAUNTED  by  the  defeat  in  the  battle 
of  IyOiig  Island,  the  Americans  under 
Putnam  strengthened  the  Brooklyn 
works  in  order  to  make  a  vigorous 
resistance  of  any  attempt  by  the  Brit- 
ish to  carry  the  position  by  storm. 
Reinforcements  arrived  from  New  York  side  and  on 
August  28th,  the  day  after  the  passes  had  been  captured 
by  the  enemy,  the  number  of  patriots  in  the  forts  and 
behind  the  other  defences  at  Brooklyn  had  been  in- 
creased to  more  than  nine  thousand  five  hundred  men. 
Despite  hunger,  fatigue,  and  inclement  weather,  they 
kept  up  stout  heart  and  obeyed  all  orders  with  spirit. 
Meanwhile,  the  British  Commander-in-chief,  Howe,  too 
cautious  to  attempt  an  immediate  assault,  was  prepar- 
ing to  approach  the  Americans  by  regular  siege.  His 
army  lay  in  a  semi-circle  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  along 
the  edge  of  the  woods.  When  detachments  from  this 
force  moved  forward  to  open  trenches  nearer  the 
Brooklyn  lines,  the  Americans  fired  upon  them.  A 
series  of  skirmishes  now  began,   "in  which,"  writes 

Colonel  Gold  S.  Silliman,  one  of  Putnam's  officers,  ' '  the 
20 

305 


J 


06  Israel  Putnam  [i776 


success  is  sometimes  one  way  and  sometimes  another." 
"  We  are  in  constant  expectation  of  a  general  battle," 
he  notes  on  August  29th  ;  "  no  one  can  be  here  long 
without  getting  pretty  well-acquainted  with  the 
whistling  of  cannon  and  musket-shot." 

Washington  soon  realised  that  it  was  useless  to  at- 
tempt any  longer  to  keep  the  enemy  at  bay.  So  he 
called  a  Council-of-War  to  consider  the  question  of  re- 
treat. Major-Generals  Putnam  and  Spencer,  Brig- 
adier-Generals Mifflin,  McDougall,  Parsons,  Scott, 
Wadsworth,  and  Fellows  met,  with  the  Commander- 
in-chief,  at  the  house  of  Philip  Livingston,  who  a  few 
weeks  before  had  been  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  who  was  still  in  at- 
tendance at  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 
The  beautifully-furnished  colonial  mansion  of  this 
well-known  patriot  stood  on  the  line  of  Hicks  Street, 
just  south  of  Joralemon  Street,  on  Brooklyn  Heights. 
Here,  on  the  stormy  afternoon  of  August  29th,  the  all- 
important  matter  of  retreat  was  fully  discussed,  and 
those  present  were  "  convinced  by  unanswerable 
reasons"  that  the  army  should  be  removed  to  New 
York.  A  high  wind  and  strong  tide  seemed  to  make 
an  immediate  withdrawal  impossible,  but  fortunately 
the  weather  soon  changed  and  on  the  night  after  the 
Council-of-War  there  was  accomplished  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  feats  of  the  war, — the  transportation  of  the 
whole  American  force  on  Long  Island  across  the  East 
River  to  New  York,  without  discovery  by  the  enemy. 
In  that  memorable  midnight  achievement,  in  slipping 
away  from  the  British,  Putnam  was  one  of  the  most 
energetic  leaders,  and  we  may  believe  that  the  safe 
embarkation  of  the  troops  was  in  large  measure  due  to 
the  readiness  with  which  the  men,  who  had  implicit 


i776i  A  Forced  Retreat  3°7 

faith  in  his  military  sagacity,  obeyed  his  instructions. 
He  ably  seconded  the  great  chief,  Washington. 

Despite  the  proximity  of  the  British,  who  quickly 
took  possession  of  the  Brooklyn  works  and  Governor's 
Island,  and  thus  commanded  New  York,  the  American 
generals  agreed  that  the  city  should  not  be  given  "  in 
fee-simple  "  to  the  enemy.  They  accordingly  arranged 
to  occupy  it  with  their  troops  as  long  as  possible.  In 
anticipation,  however,  of  the  final  evacuation,  some  of 
the  stores  and  ammunition  were  removed,  and  the 
women  and  children  were  also  sent  northward.  It 
must  have  been  at  this  time  that  Putnam's  wife  and 
daughters  went  to  Kingsbridge,  from  which  place  they 
soon  afterwards  returned  to  Connecticut. 

A  new  disposition  of  the  American  troops  was  effected 
within  a  few  days  after  the  retreat  from  Long  Island. 
The  whole  army  was  divided  into  three  grand  divisions 
under  Putnam,  Spencer,  and  Heath.  Putnam's  divi- 
sion, which  consisted  of  Parsons' s,  Scott's,  James  Clin- 
ton's (Glover's),  Fellows's,  and  Silliman's  brigades,  was 
assigned  to  the  city  and  protected  the  East  River  above 
as  far  as  Fifteenth  Street.  Spencer's  division  of  six 
brigades  continued  the  line  of  defence  from  that  point 
to  Horn's  Hook  and  Harlem;  and  Heath's  division  of 
two  brigades  guarded  Kingsbridge  and  the  Westches- 
ter shore.  Thus  the  attempt  was  made  to  defend  every 
point  on  the  East  side  from  the  Battery  to  Kingsbridge, 
or  the  entire  length  of  Manhattan  Island,  a  distance  of 
nearly  fifteen  miles. 

The  obstruction  of  the  North  or  Hudson  River  still 
seemed  to  Putnam  a  very  important  thing  to  be  accom- 
plished, for,  as  he  said  at  this  time,  "  If  Howe  gets  to 
Albany,  our  north-western  army  must  quit  Ticonderoga 
or  fall  a  sacrifice.     Burgoyne  need  never  come  from 


308  Israel  Putnam  [1776 

Canada."  But,  on  account  of  their  limited  military 
force,  the  Americans  on  Manhattan  Island  were  com- 
pelled to  confine  their  attention  to  the  East  shore,  and 
when  a  Council-of-War  decided  on  September  12th  to 
abandon  New  York  City,  the  detachments  at  the 
several  points  above  were  ordered  to  guard  the  land- 
ings until  Putnam,  who  was  to  superintend  the  removal 
of  all  the  troops  and  stores  from  the  city,  had  finished 
his  task. 

About  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  September 
15th,  Putnam,  while  busily  occupied  in  making  the 
final  preparations  for  the  evacuation  of  the  city,  heard 
a  distant  roar  of  guns.  In  all  possible  haste  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  started  for  the  place  of  action.  The 
sound  of  the  cannonading  seemed  to  come  from  the 
vicinity  of  Kip's  Bay.  While  speeding  thitherward, 
he  met  Washington  on  Murray  Hill.  The  Commander- 
in-chief  had  also  heard  the  booming  and  in  great  alarm 
had  ridden  from  his  new  headquarters  at  the  Morris 
(Jumel)  mansion  on  Harlem  Heights.  Washington 
and  Putnam,  each  of  whom  had  been  accompanied  by 
officers,  led  the  way  at  full  gallop  to  the  front.  There 
they  found  to  their  great  surprise  and  mortification 
that  the  men  of  the  different  brigades,  stationed  along 
the  East  River  shore,  were  fleeing  before  the  advance 
of  the  British,  who,  under  cover  of  fire  from  their 
frigates,  had  landed  at  the  foot  of  Thirty-fourth  Street. 
The  American  generals  made  every  exertion  to  rally 
the  runaways.  "  Take  to  the  wall  !  Take  to  the 
cornfield!  "  shouted  Washington,  as  he  quickly  rode  in 
among  the  retreating  men  and  tried  to  face  them  about. 
But  his  efforts  to  stop  the  fugitives  were  futile  and,  in 
indignation  at  their  cowardice,  he  lashed  some  of  them 
over    the    shoulders    with  his  cane,    and   demanded 


1776] 


A  Forced  Retreat  3°9 


whether  these  were  the  soldiers  with  whom  he  was  to 
defend  America.  The  unflinching  general  was  at  last 
so  exposed  to  the  oncoming  enemy  that,  according  to 
a  contemporary  account,  "  his  attendants  to  extricate 
him  out  of  his  hazardous  situation  caught  the  bridle  of 
his  horse  and  gave  him  a  different  direction." 

The  fearless  Putnam  had  made  an  equally  bold  and 
spirited  attempt  to  rally  the  panic-stricken  men.  On 
rinding  that  a  stand  against  the  British  was  impossible 
at  Kip's  Bay,  and  that  the  soldiers  of  the  lower  posts 
were  also  retreating  in  mad  confusion,  he  decided,  with 
characteristic  promptitude,  upon  a  daring  manoeuvre. 
He  purposed  to  dash  back  from  Murray  Hill  into  the 
city  and  extricate  Silliman's  brigade,  Knox's  artillery- 
men, and  the  other  troops  there  that  were  in  imminent 
peril  of  being  cut  off  by  the  enemy.  Hezekiah  Mun- 
sell  of  Wadsworth's  brigade,  one  of  the  fugitives  from 
the  foot  of  East  Twenty-third  Street,  who  joined  re- 
treating comrades  on  the  main  road  that  led  towards 
Harlem  Heights,  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  speeding 
general. 

"We  soon  reached  the  main  road  which  our  troops  were 
travelling,"  says  Munsell,  "and  the  first  conspicuous  person  I 
met  was  Gen.  Putnam.  He  was  making  his  way  towards  New 
York  when  all  were  going  from  it.  Where  he  was  going  I  could 
not  conjecture  though  I  afterwards  learned  he  was  going  after 
his  men."  * 

Aide-de-camp  Burr,  whom  Putnam  had  left  in  the 
city,  had  already  realised  that  the  troops  would  be 
caught  in  a  trap,  if  the  enemy  succeeded  in  extending 
the  lines  across  Manhattan  Island,  and  he  had  therefore 
assumed   the   responsibility   of  starting   them    along. 

*  History  of  Ancient  Windsor,  Conn,  p.  715. 


3io  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

Putnam  was  glad  enough  to  find  that  something  had 
been  done  to  save  the  men  from  their  extreme  danger, 
and  he  spurred  his  horse  forward  to  overtake  them. 
He  came  up  to  his  sweltering  troops  while  they  were 
toiling  under  the  hot  sun  along  the  west  side  of  the 
Island.  Encouraged  by  his  inspiring  presence,  the 
belated  soldiers  redoubled  their  heroic  efforts  to  push 
through  the  woods  and  lanes  in  order  to  escape  the 
British.  David  Humphreys,  Adjutant  in  the  Second 
Connecticut  Regiment  of  Militia  on  this  trying  march, 
writes  of  Putnam  thus  : 

"  I  had  frequent  opportunities  that  day  of  beholding  hitn,  for 
the  purpose  of  issuing  orders,  and  encouraging  the  troops, 
flying  on  his  horse  covered  with  foam,  wherever  his  presence 
was  most  necessary.  Without  his  extraordinary  exertions  the 
guards  must  have  been  inevitably  lost,  and  it  is  probable  the 
entire  corps  would  have  been  cut  in  pieces.  When  we  were 
not  far  from  Bloomingdale,  an  Aid-de-camp  [Burr]  came  from 
him  at  full  speed,  to  inform  that  a  column  of  British  infantry 
was  descending  upon  our  right.  Our  rear  was  soon  fired  upon, 
and  the  Colonel  of  our  regiment  [Jabez  Thompson],  whose 
order  was  just  communicated  for  the  front  to  file  off  to  the  left, 
was  killed  on  the  spot.  With  no  other  loss  we  joined  the  army, 
after  dark,  on  the  Heights  of  Harlem." 

It  was  British  over-confidence  that  gave  Putnam  and 
his  men  the  opportunity  to  escape  from  New  York. 
Howe  thought  that  the  early  morning  movements 
against  the  American  detachment  at  Kip's  Bay  had 
immediately  cleared  the  city  of  every  rebel,  and  so  he 
felt  no  haste  in  drawing  his  lines  across  the  island. 
He  and  his  principal  officers  stopped  for  rest  and  re- 
freshment at  the  Murray  country-seat,  which  stood  at 
about  the  corner  of  Park  Avenue  and  Thirty-sixth 
Street.  Dr.  James  Thacher,  the  contemporary  patriot, 
tells  this  interesting  story  in  his  Military  Journal : 


i776]  A  Forced  Retreat  311 

"  Most  fortunately,  the  British  generals,  seeing  no  prospect 
of  engaging  our  troops,  halted  their  own,  and  repaired  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Robert  Murray  [father  of  Lindley  Murray,  the 
grammarian],  a  Quaker  and  friend  of  our  cause  ;  Mrs.  Murray 
treated  them  with  cake  and  wine,  and  they  were  induced  to 
tarry  two  hours  or  more,  Governor  Tryon  frequently  joking 
her  about  her  American  friends.  By  this  happy  incident, 
General  Putnam,  by  continuiug  his  march,  escaped  a  rencounter 
with  a  greatly  superior  force,  which  must  have  proved  fatal  to 
his  whole  party.  Ten  minutes,  it  is  said,  would  have  been 
sufficient  for  the  enemy  to  have  secured  the  road  at  the  turn, 
and  entirely  cut  off  General  Putnam's  retreat.  It  has  since  be- 
come almost  a  common  saying  among  our  officers,  that  Mrs. 
Murray  saved  this  part  of  the  American  army." 

The  line  of  Putnam's  successful  retreat  seems  to  have 
been  from  Bayard's  Hill  Fort  on  Grand  Street  across 
the  country  to  Monument  Lane  (Greenwich  Avenue), 
which  led  to  the  obelisk  erected  in  honour  of  General 
Wolfe  and  others,  at  a  point  on  Fifteenth  Street  a  little 
west  of  Eighth  Avenue.  The  lane  there  joined  with 
an  irregular  road  running  on  the  line  of  Eighth 
Avenue,  known  afterwards  as  the  Abingdon  or  Fitz- 
Roy  Road,  as  far  as  Forty-second  or  -third  Street. 
From  here  Putnam's  troops  kept  west  of  the  Blooming- 
dale  road,  and  finally,  taking  the  road  at  some  point 
above  Seventieth  Street,  pushed  on  to  Harlem 
Heights.*  On  their  arrival  there  they  were  received 
with  great  rejoicing,  for  "before  our  brigades  came 
in,"  says  Humphreys,  "  we  were  given  up  for  lost  by 
all  our  friends." 

The  condition  of  the  patriotic  troops,  as  they  lay  on 
their  arms  under  the  open  sky  on  the  night  following 
the  retreat    to    Harlem    Heights,    was    disheartening 

*  Memoirs  of  Lo7ig  Island  Historical  Society,  vol,  iii.,  p.  238. 


312  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

indeed.  Greatly  exhausted  after  their  long  march, 
exposed  to  a  heavy  shower  during  the  evening,  and 
chilled  by  a  cold  autumn  wind  that  blew  with  much 
violence,  the  soldiers  suffered  extreme  physical  discom- 
fort in  addition  to  their  depression  of  spirits  in  having 
been  driven  precipitously  from  the  works  upon  which 
they  had  spent  much  labour.  It  seemed  probable  that 
on  the  next  morning  the  British  would  follow  up  their 
success.  Notwithstanding  all  the  gloom  and  apparent 
hopelessness  that  prevailed  among  the  troops,  the  Am- 
erican generals  could  not  but  trust  that  in  case  of  an 
attack  there  were  many  in  camp  who  would  "  act  like 
men,"  as  the  Commander-in-chief  earnestly  hoped, 
"and  show  themselves  worthy  of  the  blessings  of 
freedom." 

It  was  necessary  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  on  the  enemy, 
and  for  this  purpose  Washington,  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  September  16th,  sent  out  a  party  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  Rangers  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Thomas  Knowlton.  This  small  body  of  select 
troops,  consisting  of  volunteers  from  the  New  England 
regiments,  had  been  organised  by  Knowlton  since  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  and  was  similar  to  the  partisan 
corps  which  Putnam  himself  had  led  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  The  Rangers  advanced  under  cover  of 
the  woods  and  scouted  along  the  westerly  side  near  the 
Hudson  River  until  they  encountered  the  enemy's 
pickets  stationed  near  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Street. 
A  detachment  of  British  Light  Infantry,  numbering 
upwards  of  three  hundred,  responded  to  the  alarm  from 
the  outpost  and  began  a  sharp  skirmish  with  the 
"  audacious  rebels."  Knowlton  and  his  men  bravely 
held  their  ground  against  superior  numbers,  but  at 
length  were  forced  to  retreat.     They  were  closely  pur- 


i776]  A  Forced  Retreat  3T3 

sued  by  the  enemy,  who,  in  high  glee  over  the  success 
in  driving  back  their  adversaries,  continued  to  follow 
as  far  as  the  hill  where  Grant's  tomb  now  stands, 
or  the  elevation  known  as  "  Claremont."  There  the 
King's  Iyight  Troops  halted  and,  in  derision  of  the 
fleeing  provincials,  "  sounded  their  bugle  horns  as  is 
usual  after  a  fox-chase."  The  insulting  notes  were 
heard  in  the  American  camp,  across  the  "  Hollow 
Way."  Says  Adjutant-General  Reed,  who,  like  many 
another  patriot,  was  stirred  by  the  contemptuous  bugle 
blast  from  the  Claremont  height,  "  I  never  felt  such  a 
sensation  before — it  seemed  to  crown  our  disgrace."  * 

The  main  army  of  Americans  was  already  in  readi- 
ness for  action,  for  from  the  moment  that  the  first  sound 
of  distant  skirmishing  fell  on  the  ears  of  Washington 
that  morning,  he  had  made  rapid  preparations  to  resist 
any  attack  that  the  enemy  might  make  upon  his  camp. 
Greene's  division,  as  a  strong  advanced  guard,  occu- 
pied a  position  between  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
seventh  Street  and  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-third 
Street,  and  so  overlooked  the  Hollow  Way  ;  Put- 
nam's division  was  farther  north,  between  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirty-third  Street  and  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-seventh  Street;  and  Spencer's  division  was  im- 
mediately in  front  of  Washington's  headquarters  at 
the  Morris  House.  Intrenchments  were  being  hastily 
thrown  up  across  Harlem  Heights,  along  the  line  of 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh  Street. 

The  appearance  of  British  troops  on  the  Claremont 
hill  naturally  led  Washington  to  think  that  an  attempt 
was  about  to  be  made  to  carry  his  position  by  storm. 


*  H.  P.  Johnston's  Battle  of  Harlem   Heights  contains   a 
valuable  collection  of  original  documents  relating  to  the  battle. 


3H  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

Knowlton' s  Rangers,  however,  arrived  with  the  news 
that  the  hostile  force  was  only  about  three  hundred 
strong  and  was  separated  nearly  a  mile  from  the  main 
body  of  the  British  army.  The  military  instincts  of 
Washington  recognised  at  once  the  opportunity  to 
make  a  movement  which,  if  successful,  would  inspirit 
his  despondent  troops.  He  planned  to  entrap  the 
British  Light  Infantry  by  drawing  them  down  into  the 
Hollow  Way  and  cutting  off  their  retreat.  According 
to  this  project,  Colonel  Knowlton  and  his  Rangers,  to- 
gether with  three  companies  of  Virginia  riflemen  under 
the  command  of  Major  Leitch,  were  to  try  to  get  in  the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  while  other  detachments  made  a 
feint  in  front  of  the  hill  and  induced  them  to  advance 
into  the  hollow.  Thus  the  British  would  be  caught 
between  two  fires  and  compelled  to  surrender.  Wash- 
ington communicated  the  plan  to  Putnam,  who,  familiar 
with  such  strategy  by  long  experience  in  Indian  war- 
fare, assisted  with  much  enthusiasm  in  ordering  out  the 
parties  to  effect  the  proposed  manoeuvre.  "  General 
Putnam,"  relates  Oliver  Burnham,  one  of  the  Rangers, 
"  came  up  to  Colonel  Knowlton  and  directed  him  to 
take  the  left  flank."  While  the  men  under  Knowlton 
and  his  fellow- officer  Leitch  moved  circuitously  around 
the  British,  the  other  party,  composed  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fift3'  volunteers  from  Nixon's  brigade  of 
Greene's  division,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Crary, 
advanced  into  the  Hollow  Way. 

"This  took  effect,"  says  Washington  in  describing  the  en- 
gagement which  followed,  and  which  is  known  as  the  Battle  of 
Harlem  Heights,  "  as  I  wished  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  On 
the  appearance  of  our  party  in  front,  they  immediately  ran  down 
the  hill,  took  possession  of  some  fences  and  bushes,  and  a  smart 
firing  began,  but  at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  much  execution 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  3X5 

on  either  side.  The  parties  tinder  Colonel  Knowlton  and 
Major  Iveitch  unluckily  began  their  attack  too  soon,  as  it  was 
rather  in  flank  than  in  rear.  In  a  little  time  Major  Leitch  was 
brought  off  wounded,  having  received  three  balls  through  his 
side  ;  and,  in  a  short  time  after,  Colonel  Knowlton  got  a  wound, 
which  proved  mortal.  The  men,  however,  persevered,  and  con- 
tinued the  engagement  with  the  greatest  resolution.  Finding 
that  they  wanted  a  support,  I  advanced  part  of  Colonel  Griffith's 
and  Colonel  Richardson's  Maryland  regiments,  with  some  de- 
tachments from  the  eastern  regiments  who  were  nearest  the 
place  of  action.  These  troops  charged  the  enemy  with  great 
intrepidity,  and  drove  them  from  the  wood  into  the  plain,  and 
were  pushing  them  from  thence,  having  silenced  their  fire  in  a 
great  measure,  when  I  judged  it  prudent  to  order  a  retreat, 
fearing  the  enemy,  as  I  have  since  found  was  really  the  case, 
were  sending  a  large  body  to  support  their  party." 

The  "plain"  which  Washington  mentions  as  the 
place  where  the  British  attempted  to  make  a  stand  in 
falling  back  before  the  impetuous  charge  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, was  a  buckwheat  field,  near  the  present  grounds 
of  Columbia  University  and  Barnard  College.  For 
nearly  two  hours  the  fighting  raged  here  on  Morning- 
side  Heights.  It  was  during  this  stage  of  the  battle 
that  Washington  ordered  out  additional  troops.  Among 
them  were  the  very  militiamen  who  had  been  panic- 
stricken  the  day  before  at  Kip's  Bay,  but  they  now 
redeemed  themselves  by  gallant  conduct.  Eighteen 
hundred  Americans  in  all  took  part  in  the  battle.  Put- 
nam and  some  of  the  principal  officers  joined  in  the 
"  smart  action,"  so  the  contemporary  records  tell  us, 
"  and  behaved  nobly."  "  By  the  spirited  conduct  of 
General  Putnam  and  Colonel  Reed,  the  Adjutant- 
General,"  reports  General  Greene,  who  was  also  one 
of  the  heroes  in  the  fight,  "  our  people  advanced  upon 
the  plain  ground  without  cover,  and  attacked  them  and 


3l6  Israel  Putnam  [1776 

drove  them  back. ' '     Reed  himself  wrote  soon  after  the 
battle,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  : 

"  I  suppose  many  Persons  will  think  it  was  rash  &  imprudent 
for  Officers  of  our  Rank  to  go  into  such  an  action  (Genl.  Put- 
nam, Gen.  Green,  many  of  the  General's  [Washington's] 
family — Mr.  Tilghman  [Washington's  aide-de-camp]  &c,  were 
in  it),  but  it  was  really  done  to  animate  the  Troops  who  were 
quite  dispirited  &  would  not  go  into  Danger  unless  their  officers 
led  the  Way." 

The  hot  engagement  was  just  such  an  one  as  Putnam 
delighted  in,  and  his  personal  exertions  and  bravery 
did  much  towards  emboldening  the  men.  The  enemy 
11  met,"  to  quote  General  Greene  again,  "  with  a  very 
different  kind  of  reception  from  what  they  did  the  day 
before"  at  Kip's  Bay.  The  British  Light  Infantry, 
although  reinforced  in  the  battle  of  Harlem  Heights, 
could  not  hold  their  ground  before  their  opponents  and 
were  compelled,  as  General  George  Clinton,  another 
American  officer  who  was  present,  says,  "  to  fall  back 
into  an  Orchard,  from  thence  across  a  Hollow,  and  up 
another  Hill  not  far  distant  from  their  own  Lines," 
and  now  the  Americans  followed  in  close  pursuit  and 
"  enjoyed  to  the  full,"  in  the  apt  words  of  a  recent 
writer,  "  the  novel  sensation  of  a  fox-chase,  in  which 
they  did  not  personate  the  fox!  "'*  A  large  column 
of  the  British  Reserve,  however,  was  observed  to  be 
advancing  to  the  aid  of  the  fleeing  troops  and  at  this 
juncture,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  came 
Washington's  orders  for  his  men  to  return.  So  exhil- 
arating had  been  the  experience  of  chasing  the  red- 
coats that  "  it  was  with  difficulty,"  states  Reed,  "  our 


*  W.  R.  Shepherd,  in  "The  Battle  of  Harlem  Heights"  in 
Half  Moon  Series. 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  zi7 

men  could  be  brought  to  retreat."  But  at  length,  as 
we  learn  from  the  aide-de-camp  whom  Washington  sent 
with  the  message  to  retreat,  the  patriot  troops  "  gave 
a  Hurra!  and  left  the  field  in  good  order." 

The  British  had  lost  about  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men,  killed  or  wounded.  The  American  casualties 
were  a  little  less.  The  death  of  Knowlton  was  a  heavy 
personal  blow  to  Putnam.  That  trusty  and  gallant 
soldier,  to  whom  the  General  was  deeply  attached,  had 
been  willing  "  to  serve  either  by  water  or  by  land,  by 
night  or  by  day,"  and  had  never  been  known  to  say 
4 'Go  on,  boys  !  "  but  always  "  Come  on,  boys  !  " 
Leitch  died  of  his  wounds  a  few  days  after  Knowlton. 
The  battle,  although  it  cost  the  American  army  these 
two  valued  officers,  "  was  attended" — to  use  Wash- 
ington's expression,  —  ''with  many  salutary  conse- 
quences." Reed  bears  testimony  to  the  change  it 
made  in  the  American  army.  "  I  hope,"  he  said,  "  its 
effects  will  be  lasting."  The  effects  were  more  defi- 
nitely stated  by  General  George  Clinton,  who  speaks 
of  the  battle  thus:  "  It  has  animated  our  Troops,  gave 
them  new  spirits,  and  erazed  every  bad  Impression,  the 
Retreat  from  Long  Island,  &c.  had  left  on  their  minds, 
they  find  they  are  able,  with  inferior  Numbers,  to  drive 
their  Enemy,  and  think  of  nothing  now  but  Conquest. ' ' 

Realising  the  necessity  of  being  prepared  for  a  re- 
taliatory attack  by  the  British,  Washington  took  special 
precautions  for  guarding  the  camp  on  the  night  after 
the  battle.  Putnam  was  directed  to  command  on  the 
right  flank  along  the  Hollow  Way,  and  Spencer  was  to 
watch  the  ridge,  as  far  up  as  headquarters.  "  Should 
the  enemy  attempt  to  force  the  pass  to-night,"  was  one 
of  the  orders,  "  General  Putnam  is  to  apply  to  General 
Spencer  for  a  reinforcement." 


3J8  Israel  Putnam 


[1776 


No  attack,  however,  was  made  by  the  British  on  this 
night  of  September  16th.  In  fact,  nearly  a  month 
passed  away  before  the  enemy  made  any  important 
movement.  Meanwhile  Washington  urged  on  the 
work  of  building  the  defences  which  had  been  begun 
on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Harlem  Heights.  They 
consisted  of  three  lines  of  intrenchments  and  redoubts; 
the  first  line  running  along  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
seventh  Street,  the  second  at  about  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty-third  Street,  and  the  third,  which  was  never  com- 
pleted, at  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-first  Street.  Ac- 
cording to  the  orders  issued  on  September  26th,  the 
troops  under  Putnam  were  stationed  in  front  of  the 
first  line,  and  those  under  Spencer  in  the  rear  of  it. 

On  the  plains  between  the  American  and  British 
armies  lay  a  quantity  of  wheat,  corn,  and  hay.  A 
portion  of  this  was  successfully  carried  off  one  day  by 
a  detachment  under  the  command  of  Putnam,  who  was 
always  ready  to  undertake  such  a  venture  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  enemy.  Colonel  John  Chester  mentions  the 
expedition  in  a  letter  from  the  American  camp,  dated 
October  3rd. 

"  Not  long  since  Genl.  Putnam,"  he  writes,  "  with  a  party  of 
1600  or  1800  men  as  covering  party,  went  on  to  Harlem  plains  & 
with  a  number  of  waggons  brought  off  a  large  quantity  of  Grain, 
but  not  the  whole,  for  just  at  Day  break  the  Enemy  had  manned 
their  lines  &  were  seen  in  column  advancing  ;  as  our  party  were 
not  more  than  half  theirs  it  was  thought  best  to  retreat  which 
was  done  in  good  order  &  without  a  skirmish." 

The  Americans  had  not  abandoned  the  project  for 
obstructing  the  Hudson  River  with  sunken  ships;  and 
they  improved  the  opportunity,  while  the  enemy  re- 
mained quiet,  to  complete  the  chevaux-de-frise  which 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  3J9 

Putnam  had  originally  proposed.  It  stretched  from 
Jeffrey's  Hook  at  Fort  Washington  to  the  north- 
ernmost redoubt  at  Fort  Lee.  Unfortunately  it  proved 
of  little  service,  because  the  rapid  current,  changing 
with  every  turn  of  the  tide  and  continually  wrenching 
the  work,  so  weakened  it  that  it  gave  way  before  the 
weight  and  momentum  of  several  British  war-ships, 
which  sailed  up  the  river  on  October  9th.  Within  a 
week  after  that  date,  scouts  reported  in  the  American 
camp  that  a  large  hostile  force  in  flat-boats  had  passed 
up  the  East  River  through  Hell  Gate  and  was  landing 
at  Throg's  Neck,  near  the  town  of  Westchester,  about 
nine  miles  distant  from  Harlem  Heights.  Washington 
hastily  summoned  a  Council-of-War.  It  was  an  interest- 
ing gathering  of  eager  officers.  Putnam  was  there, 
and  Lee,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Stirling  and  Sullivan,  both  of  whom  had  just 
been  exchanged  after  being  prisoners  of  the  British. 
All  present  at  the  council  were  agreed  that  the  enemy 
must  have  given  up  any  plans  for  a  direct  attack  on 
the  American  position  at  Harlem  Heights,  and  that 
they  were  doubtless  trying  to  get  in  the  rear  by  an  ad- 
vance across  Westchester  County  to  the  Hudson  River, 
where  the  men-of-war,  which  had  forced  a  passage 
through  the  chevaux-de-frise,  lay  anchored.  It  was 
decided  by  the  American  officers  that,  in  order  to 
escape  being  hemmed  in,  their  own  troops  must  evacu- 
ate Manhattan  Island,  except  Fort  Washington,  which 
Greene,  who  had  general  command  of  the  post,  con- 
sidered impregnable  and  of  great  value  for  future 
operations. 

To  forestall  the  British  manoeuvres,  Washington  and 
his  generals  broke  camp  at  once  and  hurried,  with  the 
main  army,  northward  towards  White  Plains.     On  the 


320  Israel  Putnam  [1776 

march  thither,  earthworks  were  thrown  up  at  every 
prominent  point  along  the  west  bank  of  the  River  Bronx 
and  a  small  chain  of  communicating  posts  was  estab- 
lished throughout  the  entire  distance.  During  that  fort- 
night, the  energetic  services  of  Putnam  were  of  great 
help  to  the  Commander-in-chief  in  making  the  remarka- 
ble advance  movement  whereby  the  American  army  suc- 
ceeded in  occupying  a  position  which  commanded  the 
roads  to  the  Hudson  River  and  to  New  England. 
Here,  at  White  Plains,  were  constructed  intrenchments, 
partly  in  double  line,  which  ran  along  hilly  ground. 
The  left  flank  was  protected  by  a  mill-pond,  and  the 
right  by  a  bend  of  the  River  Bronx.  Four  divisions  of 
the  army,  numbering  (with  the  troops  from  Kings- 
bridge  and  New  Jersey)  about  thirteen  thousand  men, 
were  posted  behind  these  defences.  In  the  rear  was 
higher  ground,  which  commanded  the  passes  through 
the  hills  by  the  Peekskill  and  Upper  Tarrytown  Roads, 
and  afforded  an  ultimate  position  in  case  of  a  retreat 
from  the  first.  Beyond  the  River  Bronx  rose  Chatter- 
ton  Hill,  which  presented  a  steep  front  to  a  hostile  force. 
Meanwhile,  the  British  in  their  progress  from  Throg's 
Neck  had  been  delayed  at  different  points.  They  had 
lost  nearly  ten  days  waiting  for  reinforcements.  The 
hard  march  across  the  rough  country  east  of  the 
Bronx  was  made  more  difficult  by  frequent  encounters 
with  the  American  advance  guards.  At  last,  on  Octo- 
ber 28th,  the  British  troops,  thirteen  thousand  in  num- 
ber, arrived  in  front  of  White  Plains.  On  that  very 
morning,  Washington,  Putnam,  Lee,  Heath,  and  other 
officers  had  ridden  out  of  camp  to  examine  the  heights 
in  the  rear  of  the  American  works.  A  messenger 
brought  the  news  in  hot  haste  to  them  that  the  enemy 
had  appeared  ;  and  the  generals  on  the  gallop  back  to 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  321 

their  lines  beheld  an  exciting  scene — the  British  army, 
equal  in  size  to  their  own,  forming  in  heavy  columns 
to  make  an  attack. 

It  seemed  at  first  as  if  the  enemy  intended  to  make 
an  assault  in  front,  but  their  troops  were  soon  seen  to 
be  filing  off  towards  Chatterton  Hill  to  dislodge  the 
American  detachment  under  Col.  Rufus  Putnam,  the 
engineer,  who  had  been  sent  to  mark  out  a  line  of  de- 
fence on  the  rocky  brow.  Washington  immediately 
forwarded  thither  a  reinforcement  under  General  Mc- 
Dougall,  who  was  accompanied  by  Captain  Alexander 
Hamilton  with  two  pieces  of  artillery.  Engineer 
Putnam  describes  what  took  place  when  the  British 
advanced  : 

"  I  had  just  arrived  on  Chatterton  hill  in  order  to  throw  up 
some  works  when  they  [the  British]  hove  in  sight.  As  soon  as 
they  discovered  us,  they  commenced  a  severe  cannonade,  but 
without  any  effect  of  consequence.  General  McDougall  arrived 
about  this  time,  with  his  brigade,  from  Burtis',  and  observing 
the  British  to  be  crossing  the  Bronx  below  in  large  bodies  in 
order  to  attack  us,  our  troops  were  posted  in  a  very  advan- 
tageous position  to  receive  them.  The  British  were  twice  re- 
pulsed in  their  advance.  At  length,  however,  their  numbers 
were  increased  so  that  they  were  able  to  turn  our  right  flank. 
We  lost  many  men,  but  from  information  afterwards  received, 
there  was  reason  to  believe  that  they  lost  more  than  we  did. 
The  wall  and  stone  fence  behind  which  our  troops  were  posted 
proved  as  fatal  to  the  British  as  the  rail-fence  and  grass  hung 
on  it  did  at  Charlestown,  June  17,  1775."  * 

When  the  American  flank  was  being  turned  on  Chat- 
teron  Hill  and  the  Hessians  were  boldly  charging  up 
the  face  of  the  steep  ascent,  Washington  ordered  Gen- 
eral Putnam  forward  with  a  reinforcement,  but  these 

*  MSS.  Memoirs  of  Rufus  Putnam,  in  Library  of  Marietta 
College,  Marietta,  Ohio. 


322  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

troops  were  "  not  able,"  as  one  of  the  soldiers  relates,* 
"  to  get  up  in  time  to  give  the  necessary  assistance  " 
before  the  Americans  were  forced  from  the  hill.  Put- 
nam and  his  men,  however,  rendered  efficient  help  to 
the  retreating  soldiers  by  firing  from  behind  trees  and 
fences,  and  thus  covering  their  return  to  the  main 
army.  The  American  loss  amounted  to  about  thirty 
prisoners  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  killed  and 
wounded.  The  British  casualties  were  nearly  one  hun- 
dred greater. 

The  "  Battle  of  White  Plains,"  so  called,  had  been 
fought  on  Chatterton  Hill,  for  Howe,  still  fearful  of  the 
consequences  of  a  front  attack  on  the  American  lines, 
waited  for  reinforcements,  and  after  their  arrival,  he 
was  prevented  by  a  storm  from  bringing  on  an  engage- 
ment which  he  planned  for  October  31st.  That  night 
Washington  took  advantage  of  the  delay  and  withdrew 
all  his  force  to  North  Castle  Heights,  where  he  could 
occupy  an  impregnable  position.  On  November  5th, 
the  British  suddenly  broke  camp  at  White  Plains  and 
moved  off  towards  the  Hudson  River,  a  manoeuvre 
which  could  "  not  be  acounted  for  with  any  degree  of 
certainty  "  by  Washington  and  his  generals.  It  was 
thought  that  the  enemy  might  still  have  in  view  their 
original  plan  and,  by  a  sudden  wheel,  try  to  accomplish 
it.  Detachments  were  sent  out  to  observe  their  move- 
ments and  to  harass  them  as  much  as  possible.  It  was 
soon  evident  that  Howe,  instead  of  making  any  further 
attempt  to  hem  in  the  American  army,  would  either 
attack  Fort  Washington  or  cross  into  New  Jersey  and 
advance  against  Philadelphia.  To  thwart  the  British 
purpose,  Putnam,  with  several  thousand  men,  was  dis- 


*  Force,  American  Archives,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  ii,  p.  1284. 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  323 

patched  from  North  Castle  Heights  into  New  Jersey. 
General  Mifflin,  writing  from  Peekskill  on  November 
ioth,  says  : 

"General  Lord  Stirling  passed  King's  Ferry  yesterday  after- 
noon to  New  Jersey  with  twelve  hundred  men.  Colonel  Hand 
is  now  embarking  for  Jersey  with  one  thousand  ;  General  Bell, 
with  seventeen  hundred,  is  here  and  preparing  to  embark ;  the 
whole  under  the  command  of  General  Putnam.  General  Wash- 
ington is  expected  here  this  morning.  The  enemy's  main  body 
was  encamped  yesterday  between  Dobb's  Ferry  and  Colonel 
Phillips's  Mills.  If  they  attempt  anything  in  New  Jersey  we 
shall  be  able  to  face  them  and  I  trust  drub  them." 

With  the  troops  under  his  immediate  command, 
Putnam,  after  crossing  the  Hudson,  moved  down  the 
west  bank  of  the  river  and  encamped  near  Hackensack. 
Meanwhile  Washington  stationed  Heath  at  Peekskill 
with  three  thousand  men  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the 
Highlands  and  left  Lee  at  North  Castle  with  seven 
thousand  men.  The  latter  general  had  orders  to  co- 
operate promptly  with  the  Commander-in-chief,  as  soon 
as  the  British  designs  were  more  definitely  known. 
On  November  12th,  Washington,  after  reconnoitring 
the  posts  in  the  Highlands,  passed  over  the  Hudson 
River  into  New  Jersey  and  within  a  few  hours  reached 
Fort  Lee,  the  headquarters  of  Greene,  who  was  in  gen- 
eral command  of  the  fortifications  in  that  vicinity.  On 
account  of  the  recent  movements  of  the  enemy,  Wash- 
ington had  been  inclined  to  think  that  it  would  not  be 
prudent  to  hazard  the  men  and  stores  at  Fort  Washing- 
ton, which  stood  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
directly  opposite  Fort  Lee.  Several  days  before  his 
arrival  at  the  latter  place,  he  had  written  to  Greene 
about  abandoning  Fort  Washington,  "  but  as  you  are 
on  the  spot,"  he  had  said  in  his  letter  to  that  officer, 


324  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

"  I  leave  it  to  you  to  give  such  orders,  as  to  evacuating 
Mount  Washington,  as  you  may  judge  best."  Greene, 
to  whose  discretion  the  withdrawal  was  thus  left,  be- 
lieved that  the  fort  could  be  held,  and  he  increased  the 
garrison  under  Colonel  Robert  Magaw  to  nearly  three 
thousand  men.  Putnam  appears  to  have  approved 
Greene's  course.  The  disaster,  which  Washington 
feared,  was  to  follow  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief at  Fort  Lee,  for  the  enemy  were  prepar- 
ing to  attack  Fort  Washington  with  an  overwhelming 
force.  On  November  15th,  a  message  came  from  Gen- 
eral Howe,  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  garrison. 
Colonel  Magaw  returned  a  spirited  refusal  to  the  British 
commander,  and  sent  an  express  to  the  officers  at  Fort 
Lee  with  a  copy  of  the  letter.  Greene  and  Putnam 
immediately  took  boat  to  cross  the  river  to  Fort  Wash- 
ington and  encourage  the  men.  It  happened  that 
Washington  had  ridden  from  Fort  Lee  to  Hackensack 
that  day.  On  learning  that  the  garrison  under  Magaw 
had  been  summoned  to  surrender,  he  returned  at  once, 
as  we  learn  from  his  own  story  : 

"Immediately  upon  receiving  an  account  of  this  transaction, 
I  came  from  IJackinsac  to  this  place  [Fort  Lee]  and  had  partly 
crossed  the  North  River  when  I  met  General  Putnam  and  Gen- 
eral Greene,  who  were  just  returning  from  thence  [Fort  Wash- 
ington], and  informed  me  that  the  troops  were  in  high  spirits 
and  would  make  a  good  defence  ;  and,  it  being  late  at  night,  I 
returned." 

The  anxious  night  wore  away,  and  in  the  morning 
the  British  approached  to  begin  the  attack  on  the 
various  field  fortifications  of  which  Fort  Washington 
was  the  citadel.  The  three  intrenched  lines  of  Harlem 
Heights,  crossing  Manhattan  Island,  were  to  the  south. 


1776]  A  Forced  Retreat  325 

These  defences  seemed  to  be  in  danger.     Thither  the 
chief  American  officers  went  : 

"General  Washington,  General  Putnam,  General  Mercer, 
and  myself,"  says  General  Greene,  "went  to  the  island  to  de- 
termine what  was  best  to  be  done  ;  but  just  at  the  instant  we 
stepped  on  board  the  boat  the  enemy  made  their  appearance  on 
the  hill  where  the  Monday  action  [battle  of  Harlem  Heights  on 
Monday,  September  16,  1776]  was,  and  began  a  severe  cannon- 
ade with  several  field  pieces.  Our  guards  soon  fled,  the  enemy 
advanced  up  to  the  second  line  [at  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
Seventh  Street].  This  was  done  while  we  were  crossing  the 
river  and  getting  upon  the  hill  [the  old  headquarters  at  the 
Morris  House,  from  which  place  the  American  Generals  watched 
the  enemy's  approach].  The  enemy  made  several  marches  to 
the  right  and  to  the  left — I  suppose  to  reconnoitre  the  fortifica- 
tions and  lines.  There  we  all  stood  in  a  very  awkward  situa- 
tion. As  the  disposition  was  made  and  the  enemy  advancing, 
we  durst  not  attempt  to  make  any  new  disposition  ;  indeed,  we 
saw  nothing  amiss.  We  all  urged  his  Excellency  to  come  off. 
I  offered  to  stay,  General  Putnam  did  the  same,  and  so  did 
General  Mercer;  but  his  Excellency  thought  it  best  for  us  all 
to  come  off  together,  which  we  did."  * 

Having  re-crossed  the  Hudson  River  to  the  western 
side,  Washington,  Putnam,  Greene,  Mercer,  and  other 
American  officers  took  their  stand  on  the  brow  of  the 
Palisades,  whence  they  watched  with  intense  solicitude 
the  assault  upon  the  works.  The  British  were  closing 
in  upon  Fort  Washington  from  different  directions. 
Greene  continues  with  an  account  of  what  he  and  his 
companions  saw  and  heard  from  their  new  position  : 

"The  enemy  came  up  Harlem  River  and  landed  a  party  at 
headquarters  [Morris  House],  which  was  upon  the  back  of  our 
people  in   the  lines.     A  disorderly  retreat   soon   took   place ; 


*  Letter  to  General  Henry  Knox,  quoted  in  Noah  Brooks's 
Life  of  General  Knox. 


326  Israel  Putnam  [i776 

without  much  firiug  the  people  retreated  into  the  fort.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  fort  there  was  a  very  heavy  fire  for  a  long 
while  ;  and  as  they  had  the  advantage  of  the  ground,  I  appre- 
hend the  enemy's  loss  must  be  great.  After  the  troops  retreated 
into  the  fort,  very  few  guns  were  fired.  The  enemy  approached 
within  small-arm  fire  of  the  lines  and  sent  in  a  flag,  and  the 
garrison  capitulated  in  an  hour." 

Thus  Fort  Washington  with  its  valuable  stores  and 
more  than  two  thousand  men  passed  into  British  hands, 
but  the  capture  had  cost  the  enemy  nearly  five  hun- 
dred men  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  American 
generals  made  preparations  at  once  to  evacuate  Fort 
Lee,  for  they  realised  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to 
obstruct  the  passage  of  the  Hudson  River  with  only 
one  fort,  and  they  expected  that  the  British  would  ad- 
vance without  delay  against  that  stronghold.  But  be- 
fore all  the  ammunition  and  stores  could  be  removed, 
the  enemy  were  found,  on  the  morning  of  November 
20th,  to  have  crossed  the  river  in  large  numbers,  with 
the  evident  intention  of  forming  a  line  across  from  the 
place  of  their  landing,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson* 
to  Hackensack  Bridge,  and  thereby  hemming  in  the 
whole  garrison  at  Fort  Lee  between  the  Hudson  and 
Hackensack  Rivers. 

"However,  we  were  lucky  enough  to  gain  the  Bridge  before 
them,"  writes  Washington,  "by  which  means  we  saved  our 
men,  but  were  obliged  to  leave  some  hundred  barrels  of  flour, 
most  of  our  cannon,  and  a  considerable  parcel  of  tents  and 
baggage." 

Putnam,  Greene,  Stirling,  and  Mercer  were  the  prin- 
cipal officers  who  accompanied  Washington  in  the  dis- 
tressing retreat  which  now  began  when,  with  less  than 
four  thousand  men,  he  fell  back  before  the  British. 
On  November  21st,  the  Americans  crossed  the  Passaic 


i776]  A  Forced  Retreat  327 

River  and  inarched  south-westward  to  Newark.  Here 
they  remained  five  days,  the  Commander-in-chief  send- 
ing meanwhile  repeated  messages  to  L,ee,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  troops  at  North  Castle,  to  bring  on  his 
part  of  the  army.  But  that  arrogant  General  was 
scneming  to  supersede  Washington  in  the  chief  com- 
mand and  dallied  in  obeying  orders.  The  approach 
of  the  enemy  compelled  the  Americans,  on  Thursday 
morning,  November  28th,  to  leave  Newark  for  New 
Brunswick. 

Three  days  later,  Cornwallis  with  his  columns  came 
up  to  New  Brunswick  in  the  pursuit  ;  and  the  Ameri- 
cans, after  a  lively  skirmish,  broke  down  the  bridge 
over  the  Raritan  and  continued  their  retreat  to  Prince- 
ton. By  this  time  the  patriotic  force  with  Washington 
had  dwindled  to  three  thousand  men. 

"The  enemy  have  pressed  us  very  hard  from  place  to  place," 
narrates  Greene,  who  had  travelled  at  Putnam's  side  most  of  the 
way  on  this  discouraging  march.  "The  time  for  which  our 
troops  were  engaged  expired,  and  they  went  off  by  whole  bri- 
gades, notwithstanding  the  enemy  lay  within  two  or  three  hours' 
march  of  us,  and  our  force  remaining  not  near  half  equal  to 
theirs.  The  virtue  of  the  Americans  is  put  to  a  trial :  if  they 
turn  out  with  spirit  all  will  go  on  well ;  but  if  the  militia  refuses 
their  aid,  the  people  must  submit  to  the  servitude  they  deserve. 
But  I  think  it  is  impossible  that  Americans  can  behave  so  pol- 
troonish.  .  .  .  The  enemy's  footsteps  are  marked  with 
destruction  wherever  they  go.  There  is  no  difference  made 
between  the  Whigs  and  Tories  ;  all  fare  alike.  They  take  the 
clothes  off  on  the  people's  back.  The  distress  they  spread 
wherever  they  go  exceeds  all  description."* 

From  Princeton  to  Trenton  was  the  next  move  by 
the  hard-pressed  Americans.     Putnam  does  not  appear 

*  Life  of  Major-General  Nathanael  Greene,  by  G.W.  Greene, 
vol.  i,  p.  281. 


328  Israel  Putnam  [1776] 

to  have  been  with  the  main  army  at  this  stage  of  the 
forced  retreat,  for  Washington,  on  arriving  at  the  latter 
place,  addressed  a  letter  to  him,*  with  instructions  to 
bring  on  the  detachment  under  his  command.  Putnam 
soon  arrived  at  Trenton  and,  by  December  8th,  all  the 
American  troops  had  gained  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Delaware,  Putnam  with  his  usual  bravery  "  being 
among  the  last  of  the  fugitive  army  to  cross  the  river." 
The  security  of  Philadelphia  was  Washington's  great 
object. 

"If  we  can  keep  the  enemy  from  entering  Philadelphia,"  he 
said,  in  writing  to  Congress  at  this  time  that  tried  men's  souls, 
"  and  keep  the  communication  by  water  open  for  supplies,  we 
may  yet  make  a  stand,  if  the  country  will  come  to  our  assist- 
ance till  our  new  levies  can  be  collected.  If  the  measure  of 
fortifying  the  city  should  be  adopted,  some  skilful  person 
should  immediately  view  the  grounds,  and  begin  to  trace  out 
the  lines  and  works.  I  am  informed  there  is  a  French  engineer 
of  eminence  [Kosciusko]  in  Philadelphia  at  this  time  ;  if  so,  he 
will  be  the  most  proper." 

Washington  had  just  penned  the  foregoing  words 
when  he  received  important  news  from  Philadelphia  : 

"General  Mifflin  is  this  moment  come  up,"  he  added  in  his 
letter,  "and  tells  me  that  all  the  military  stores  yet  remain  in 
Philadelphia.  This  makes  the  immediate  fortifying  of  the  city 
so  necessary  that  I  have  desired  General  Mifflin  to  return  to 
take  charge  of  the  stores ;  and  have  ordered  Major-General 
Putnam  immediately  down  to  superintend  the  works  and  give 
the  necessary  directions." 

It  was  December  9th,  when  Putnam  was  ordered  to 
take  the  chief  command  at  Philadelphia.  He  hastened 
forward  to  that  city  with  the  greatest  possible  speed. 

*  The  original  letter  from  Washington  to  Putnam,  dated 
Trenton,  Dec.  3,  1776,  is  owned  by  Mrs.  Mary  Putnam  Bos- 
worth,  of  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


AT  PHILADELPHIA   AND   PRINCETON 


1776-1777 

HE  condition  of  affairs  at  Philadelphia 
in  the  early  winter  of  1776  is  described 
by  Putnam  immediately  after  he  arrived 
to  assume  command  of  the  city. 


"All  things  in  this  city,"  he  wrote  to  Washington  on  De- 
cember 12th,  "remain  in  confusion,  for  want  of  men  to  put 
them  in  order.  The  citizens  are  generally  with  you.  The 
Continental  recruits  are  clothing  and  arming  as  fast  as  possible, 
and  are  employed  on  guard  and  fatigue  duty,  for  which  there  is 
scarce  a  relief.  A  party  are  now  going  to  the  Jerseys,  to  bring 
off  all  the  craft  out  of  the  creeks. 

"  The  Council  of  Safety  have  this  day  issued  orders  for  every 
able-bodied  man  to  be  enrolled  and  put  to  work  in  throwing 
up  the  lines.  I  have  reconnoitred  the  ground  round  the  city, 
in  company  with  General  Mifflin,  and  the  French  Engineers, 
who  are  preparing  a  draft  of  the  lines,  which  we  are  to  begin 
to-morrow.  The  principal  stores  are  removed  to  Christiana 
Bridge."* 


On  the  same  day  that  he  dictated  the  foregoing  let- 
ter, Putnam  established  martial  law  in  the  city  where 


*  American  Archives,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  iii,  p.  1180. 
329 


33°  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

confusion  reigned  in  this  dark  hour  of  the  struggle  for 
American  independence  : 

"The  late  advances  by  the  enemy  towards  this  place  oblige 
the  General  to  request  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  not  to  appear 
in  the  streets  after  ten  o'clock  at  night,  as  he  has  given  orders 
to  the  piquet-guard  to  arrest  and  confine  all  persons  who  may 
be  found  in  the  streets  after  that  hour.  Physicians  and  others 
having  essential  business,  are  directed  to  call  at  Head-quarters 
for  passes." 

In  consequence  of  a  rumour  that  Philadelphia  was  to 
be  burned  on  account  of  the  threatening  capture  of  the 
city  by  the  British,  Putnam  issued  the  following  : 

"  Head-Quarters,  Phieadeephia, 
December  13,  1776. 
11  The  General  has  been  informed  that  some  weak  or  wicked 
men  have  maliciously  reported  that  it  is  the  design  and  wish 
of  the  officers  and  men  in  the  Continental  Army  to  burn  and 
destroy  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  To  counteract  such  a  false 
and  scandalous  report,  he  thinks  it  necessary  to  inform  the 
inhabitants  who  propose  to  remain  in  the  city,  that  he  has  re- 
ceived positive  orders  from  the  honourable  Continental  Con- 
gress, and  from  his  Excellency  General  Washington,  to  secure 
and  protect  the  city  of  Philadelphia  against  all  invaders  and 
enemies.  The  General  will  consider  every  attempt  to  burn  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  as  a  crime  of  the  blackest  dye,  and  will, 
without  ceremony,  punish  capitally  any  incendiary  who  shall 
have  the  hardness  and  cruelty  to  attempt  it." 

The  citizens  in  general,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Quakers,  were  called  by  Putnam  into  military  service. 
Although  he  exempted  Quakers,  the  patriotic  General 
had  little  patience  with  the  peculiar  tenets  of  these 
persons  who  were  opposed  on  principle  to  military  duty. 
"  Drones  of  society, "  he  called  them  in  an  outspoken 


1777]    At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    331 

letter  to  Governor  William  Livingston  of  New  Jersey, 
in  which  he  expressed  strong  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  allowing  them  "  to  remain  unmolested."  But  any 
other  course  than  that  which  Putnam  reluctantly 
adopted  would  only  have  tended  to  disgust  the  moder- 
ate men  of  either  side,  without  bringing  into  service 
any  valuable  recruits,  and  so  the  General  was  obliged 
to  forbear  with  the  Quakers,  repugnant  as  it  was  to  his 
nature.  His  position  was  an  exceedingly  trying  one, 
for  many  persons  who  were  strongly  disaffected  towards 
the  American  cause,  were  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
any  amnesty  offered  by  the  British  Commander-in-chief. 
Putnam  made  a  diligent  use  of  his  authority  to  appre- 
hend all  delinquents  and  to  exact  personal  service  or 
levy  proportionate  fines.  He  exerted  strenuous  efforts 
to  arouse  all  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia  to  the 
necessity  of  repelling  the  expected  approach  of  the 
enemy.  The  depreciation  of  the  American  currency 
in  the  alarming  crisis  was  another  matter  to  be  dealt 
with,  and  Putnam  announced  that  the  refusal  to  accept 
the  Continental  money  at  its  face  value  would  be  con- 
sidered criminal. 

The  nervous  timidity  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in 
session  at  Philadelphia,  is  easily  discernible  in  their  acts 
during  the  gloomy  period  when  the  city  was,  beyond  all 
question,  the  object  of  the  enemy's  movements.  Major- 
General  Putnam  and  Brigadier-General  Mifflin,  as  we 
learn  from  the  "  Proceedings,"  were  soon  summoned 
to  consult  with  Congress  in  regard  to  the  adjournment 
of  that  deliberative  body  to  some  other  place  on  account 
of  the  approach  of  the  British  army.  The  result  of  the 
conference  is  stated  by  Oliver  Wolcott,  one  of  the  Con- 
necticut delegates,  in  a  letter  from  Philadelphia,  dated 
December  13th  : 


332  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

"  The  Congress,  upon  the  advice  of  Genls.  Putnam  and 
Mifflin  (who  are  now  here  to  provide  for  the  Protection  of  the 
Place),  as  well  as  the  Result  of  their  own  Opinion,  have  ad- 
journed themselves  to  Baltimore  in  Maryland,  about  no  miles 
from  this  City,  as  it  was  judged  that  the  Council  of  America 
ought  not  to  sit  in  a  Place  liable  to  be  interrupted  by  the  rude 
Disorder  of  Arms,  so  that  I  am  at  this  moment  going  forward 
for  that  place.  Whether  the  Army  will  succeed  in  their  cruel 
Designs  against  this  City,  must  be  left  to  time  to  discover. 
Congress  have  ordered  the  General  [Putnam]  to  defend  it  to  the 
last  extremity,  and  God  grant  that  he  may  be  successful  in  his 
exertions."  * 

The  removal  of  Congress  from  Philadelphia  to  Balti- 
more increased,  the  alarm  in  the  former  city,  and  it  was 
only  by  the  watchfulness  of  the  resolute  Putnam  that 
the  loyalists  were  kept  from  making  a  serious  out- 
break. In  hastening  preparations  for  the  defence  of 
Philadelphia  the  General  overtaxed  his  strength,  and 
his  health,  it  is  stated,  "was  for  awhile  impaired  by 
his  unrelaxed  exertions."  For  a  number  of  days  he 
had  to  stay  indoors. 

At  midnight  of  December  24th,  Putnam  was  aroused 
from  slumber  by  the  arrival  of  Adjutant-General  Reed 
at  his  headquarters.  This  officer  had  come  in  haste 
from  Bristol  to  confer  with  the  General  about  furnish- 
ing troops  for  a  southern  diversion  into  New  Jersey. 
Reed  had  received  a  letter  from  Washington,  telling 
him  of  a  contemplated  movement  on  Christmas  night 
against  the  Hessian  force  stationed  at  Trenton.  For 
the  accomplishment  of  this  plan  to  cross  the  Delaware 
and  surprise  the  enemy,  Washington  needed  the  co- 

*  Memoirs  of  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  vol.  iii.  There 
is  a  similar  letter  by  Robert  Morris  to  Silas  Deane  in  Stevens's 
Facsimiles  of  MSS.  in  European  Archives  relating  to  America, 
vol.  xiv. 


1777]     At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    333 

operation  of  the  several  American  divisions  which  were 
posted  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  from  Coryell's 
Ferry  to  Bristol.  Reed  and  Cadwalader,  the  com- 
manding officers  of  the  troops  at  the  latter  place,  ex- 
pected to  join  Colonel  Griffin  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Delaware,  who,  with  two  companies  of  Virginians 
and  some  militia,  had  been  successful  in  driving  a  party 
of  Hessians  back  to  Mount  Holly.  While  the  united 
detachments  of  Americans,  forming  the  right  wing  of 
the  army  occupied  the  attention  of  the  enemy's  posts 
below  Trenton,  Washington  himself  could  advance 
with  the  main  body  of  troops  against  the  garrison  in 
that  town.  This  project  seemed  feasible,  for  the 
diminishing  American  army  had  been  reinforced  by  a 
detachment  under  Gates  from  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment and  by  Sullivan  with  the  troops  belonging  to  Lee, 
who,  on  his  way  to  join  the  Commander-in-chief,  had 
been  captured  by  the  British  while  he  was  at  an  un- 
guarded inn. 

"Prepare  and  concert  with  Griffin,"  wrote  Washington  to 
Reed  and  Cadwalader,  who  were  assigned  to  the  southern 
operations  in  the  movements  which  he  boldly  planned  to  dis- 
concert the  enemy  ;  "  attack  as  many  of  their  posts  as  you  pos- 
sibly can  with  a  prospect  of  success  ;  the  more  we  can  attack 
at  the  same  instant  the  more  confusion  we  shall  spread,  and 
the  greater  good  will  result  from  it." 

But  Reed  and  Cadwalader  found  that  the  proposed 
co-operation  with  Griffin  was  impracticable.  In  this 
emergency  they  decided  to  induce  Putnam  to  cross  the 
Delaware  at  Cooper's  Ferry  with  such  troops  as  he  had, 
while  the  Philadelphia  militia  should  make  a  similar 
movement  at  or  near  Bristol. 

And  so  Reed  had  come  to  Philadelphia,  on  the  night 


334  Israel  Putnam  [I776- 

of  December  24th,  to  confide  to  Putnam  the  secret  plans 
for  the  attack  on  Trenton  on  Christmas  night  and  to 
obtain  his  help  in  carrying  out  Washington's  wishes  in 
regard  to  a  southern  diversion.  Putnam,  who  was  re- 
covering from  his  recent  illness,  was  ready  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  further  the  enterprise,  and  he  thought 
that  he  could  furnish  the  needed  assistance.  Reed  ac- 
cordingly dispatched  the  following  note  to  Cadwalader 
in  the  morning  : 

"  General  Putnam  has  determined  to  cross  the  river  with  as 
many  men  as  he  can  collect,  which  he  says  will  be  about  500 ; 
he  is  now  mustering  them  and  endeavouring  to  get  Proctor's 
company  of  artillery  to  go  with  them.  I  wait  to  know  what 
success  he  meets  with,  and  the  progress  he  makes  ;  but  at  all 
events  I  shall  be  with  you  this  afternoon." 

But  Putnam  soon  discovered  indications  that  the 
Tory  element  in  Philadelphia  would  rise  during  his 
absence  ;  and  he,  therefore,  felt  obliged  to  withhold 
the  troops  which  he  expected  to  forward.  Before  the 
arrival  of  Reed  in  the  city,  the  General  had  sent  his 
son  Daniel,  who  had  recently  been  appointed  one  of 
his  aides-de-camp,  with  a  message  to  Washington,  re- 
porting his  improved  health  and  the  progress  of  military 
affairs  under  his  direction. 

With  increased  effort  Putnam  urged  forward  the 
work  of  building  the  defences  which  had  been  laid  out 
from  the  Schuylkill  River,  covering  the  high  ground 
around  Germantown  in  an  easterly  direction  to  the 
Delaware  River.  He  began  to  remove  a  large  quantity 
of  supplies  from  the  city.  Meanwhile  he  awaited  in 
great  suspense  the  news  of  the  Trenton  undertaking, 
which  the  Commander-in-chief  had  planned  so  cau- 
tiously.    The  weather  on  Christmas  night  had  been 


i777]    At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    335 

very  inauspicious.  Could  it  be  that,  in  the  blinding 
tempest  of  hail  and  sleet,  driven  by  a  fierce  north-east 
wind,  Washington  had  made  his  daring  venture  ?  At 
last  Putnam  received  the  thrilling  tidings  of  what  had 
been  accomplished  ;  how  the  chief  commander,  with 
twenty-five  hundred  men,  unsupported  by  the  other 
divisions  of  his  army,  had  crossed  the  Delaware,  despite 
the  huge  masses  of  floating  ice  which  made  the  passage 
of  the  river  so  extremely  dangerous  ;  how,  in  the  teeth 
of  the  storm,  the  brave  troops  had  pushed  rapidly  on 
towards  Trenton,  nine  miles  away  ;  how  at  dawn  they 
had  driven  in  the  enemy's  pickets  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet  and  entered  the  town  by  different  roads  ;  how, 
after  a  quick,  sharp  skirmish,  in  which  only  two  of  their 
own  number  were  killed,  they  had  captured  a  thousand 
Hessians  who,  unsuspicious  of  the  approach  of  the 
Americans,  had  been  indulging  in  Christmas  revels. 

The  reality  of  this  brilliant  victory,  which  caused 
great  rejoicing  among  all  patriots,  was  made  very  vivid, 
a  few  days  later,  to  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  for  the 
Hessian  prisoners,  followed  by  the  captured  arms  and 
banners,  were  marched  through  the  streets  of  the  city 
and  the  whole  populace  flocked  to  see  them.  This 
parade  of  triumph  was  doubtless  intended  to  encourage 
the  people  and  to  show  them  that  the  dreaded  Hessians 
could  be  conquered  by  the  untrained  troops  of  Amer- 
ica.* The  Hessians,  after  being  paraded,  were  con- 
ducted to  the  city  barracks,  which  had  been  vacated  by 
the  American  soldiers  in  accordance  with  Putnam's 
directions.  "  You  are  immedatly  to  remove  your  men 
out  of  the  Barrok,"  was  his  characteristic  misspelled 
order  to  his  officers,  "  to  make  room  for  the  hashon 
Prisoners." 


*  Stryker,  The  Battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton. 


336  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

The  prisoners  were  kept  in  the  city  about  a  week  and 
then  they  were  marched  to  Baltimore,  where  Congress 
was  sitting.  On  New  Year's  Day,  when  they  were  still 
in  Philadelphia,  the  Hessian  officers  were  taken  in  a 
body  to  call  on  General  Putnam.  He  received  them 
very  hospitably.  "  He  shook  hands  with  each  of  us," 
one  of  them  has  recorded  in  his  journal,  "  and  we  all 
had  to  drink  a  glass  of  Madeira  with  him."  "  This  old 
gray-beard  may  be  a  good,  honest  man,"  the  same 
writer  comments,  "  but  nobody  but  the  rebels  would 
have  made  him  a  general."  *  Criticism  of  the  military 
rank  of  Putnam  was  not  uncommon,  even  on  the 
patriot  side.  From  the  moment  of  his  arrival  to  take 
command  in  the  city,  certain  fastidious  Philadelphians 
had  expressed  great  surprise  that  the  unpolished 
Yankee  fighter  was  ever  made  a  general. 

At  the  time  that  the  public  rejoicings  were  breaking 
forth  throughout  the  colonies  over  the  Trenton  victory, 
Washington  was  alert  to  retard  the  progress  of  the 
British,  who  were  advancing  to  retaliate  the  loss  of 
their  Hessian  force.  After  returning  into  Pennsyl- 
vania with  the  prisoners,  he  had  again  crossed  the 
Delaware  and  occupied  Trenton.  On  the  near  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy  to  this  place,  he  had  withdrawn 
his  troops  beyond  the  Assunpink,  a  small  river  which 
flows  into  the  Delaware  just  below  the  town.  So 
confident  was  Cornwallis  of  being  able  to  entrap  the 
Americans  in  this  position,  that  he  little  suspected 
Washington's  scheme  against  the  British  post  at 
Princeton.  The  following  hurried  message  from  Ad- 
jutant-General Reed  was  written  to  Putnam  a  few 
minutes  before  the  midnight  march  began: 


*  Journal  of  the  Regiment  von  Lossberg  (Piel). 


1777]    At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    337 

11  East  side  of  Trenton  Creek, 
"January  2d,  1777,  twelve  o'clock  at  night. 
"Dear  Generae  Putnam, — The  enemy  advanced  upon  us 
to-day.  We  came  to  the  east  side  of  the  river  or  creek,  which 
runs  through  Trenton,  when  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  forced 
march  and  attack  the  enemy  in  Princeton.  In  order  to  do  this 
with  the  greatest  security  our  baggage  is  sent  off  to  Burlington. 
His  Excellency  begs  you  will  march  immediately  forward  with 
all  the  force  you  can  collect  at  Crosswicks  where  you  will  find 
a  very  advantageous  post ;  your  advanced  party  at  Allentown. 
You  will  also  send  a  good  guard  for  our  baggage  wherever  it 
may  be.  Let  us  hear  from  you  as  often  as  possible.  We  shall 
do  the  same  by  you.  "  Yours, 

"J.  REED." 

In  compliance  with  Washington's  wishes,  as  com- 
municated by  Reed,  Putnam  hastened  forward  with  as 
many  men  as  he  could  muster — seven  or  eight  hundred 
in  all.  From  his  letters*  to  the  Pennsylvania  Council 
of  Safety,  written  on  the  march,  we  learn  that  he  was  in 
Bristol  on  January  5th.  The  next  morning  he  crossed 
the  Delaware  and  advanced  to  Bordentown,  where  he 
found  a  body  of  Continental  militia  and,  with  his  force 
increased  to  about  one  thousand  men,  he  proceeded  to 
Trenton,  which  had  already  been  evacuated  by  the 
British.  Here  Putnam  received  a  letter  from  Wash- 
ington, describing  the  success  at  Princeton  : 

"Peuckemin,  5  January,  1777. 

"  Dear  General, — Fortune  has  favored  us  in  an  attack  on 
Princeton.  General  Howe  advanced  upon  Trenton,  which  we 
evacuated  in  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  this  instant,  and  drew  up 
the  troops  in  the  south  side  of  Mill  Creek,  and  continued  in 
that  position  until  dark,  then  marched  for  Princeton,  which  we 
reached  next  morning  about  nine  o'clock.  There  were  three 
regiments   quartered   there   of  the   British   troops,   which   we 

*  These  letters  of  Putnam  are  printed  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  vol.  v.  • 


33^  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

attacked  and  routed.  The  number  of  the  killed,  wounded,  and 
taken  prisoners  amounts  to  about  five  or  six  hundred.  We  lost 
several  officers  and  about  thirty  privates.  General  Mercer  is 
badly  wounded,  if  not  mortally.  After  the  action  we  imme- 
diately marched  for  this  place.  I  shall  remove  from  hence  to 
Morristown,  there  shall  wait  a  few  days  and  refresh  the  troops, 
during  which  time  I  shall  keep  a  strict  watch  upon  the  enemy's 
motions.  They  appear  to  be  panic-struck,  and  I  am  in  some 
hopes  of  driving  them  out  of  the  Jerseys.  It  is  thought  advis- 
able for  you  to  march  the  troops  under  your  command  to  Cross- 
wicks,  and  keep  a  strict  watch  upon  the  enemy  in  that  quarter. 
If  the  enemy  continue  at  Brunswick,  you  must  act  with  great 
circumspection,  lest  you  meet  with  a  surprise.  As  we  have 
made  two  successful  attacks  upon  the  enemy  by  way  of  surprise, 
they  will  be  pointed  with  resentment  and  if  there  is  any  possi- 
bility of  retaliating,  they  will  attempt  it.  You  will  give  out 
your  strength  to  be  twice  as  great  as  it  is.  Forward  on  all  the 
baggage  and  scattered  troops  belonging  to  this  division  of  the 
army,  as  soon  as  may  be. 

"  You  will  keep  as  many  spies  out  as  you  will  see  proper.  A 
number  of  horsemen,  in  the  dress  of  the  country,  must  be  con- 
stantly going  backwards  and  forwards  for  this  purpose,  and  if 
you  discover  any  motion  of  the  enemy,  which  you  can  depend 
upon,  and  which  you  think  of  consequence,  let  me  be  informed 
thereof  as  soon  as  possible  by  express. 

"  I  am,  dear  General,  yours,  &c. 

"  G.  Washington." 

On  January  8th,  Putnam  marched  from  Trenton  to 
Crosswicks.  A  message  from  the  Commander-in-chief 
reached  him  at  the  latter  place,  directing  him  to  move 
forward  with  his  men  to  Princeton.  But  Putnam  ex- 
pected that  the  enemy  would  attempt  to  regain  their 
lost  position,  and  so  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  a  rein- 
forcement from  Philadelphia,  for  which  he  had  sent. 
Soon  another  letter  came  from  Washington,  with  orders 
to  advance,  and  again  the  General  delayed,  thinking 
that    he   was  justified  in  doing    so,    because   of  the 


1777]    At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    339 

apparent  necessity  of  obtaining  a  larger  force,  and  of 
guarding,  meanwhile,  the  route  to  Mount  Holly. 
Washington,  surprised  that  Putnam  stayed  at  Cross- 
wicks,  wrote  to  Reed  from  Morristown  : 

"I  very  much  approve  of  your  visiting  Genl.  Putnam,  as  I 
cannot  acc't  for  his  remaining  at  Crosswicks  instead  of  remov- 
ing to  Princeton,  as  I  have  desired  in  several  of  my  Letters.  I 
would  have  him  keep  nothing  at  Princeton  (except  two  or  three 
days'  provisions)  but  what  can  be  moved  off  at  an  hour's  warn- 
ing—  in  that  case,  if  good  Scouting  Parties  are  kept  constantly 
out,  no  possible  damage  can  happen  to  the  Troops  under  his 
Command  ;  who  are  to  retreat,  in  case  they  are  compelled  to 
leave  Princeton,  towards  the  mountains,  so  as  to  form  a  junction 
with  the  army  under  my  immediate  Command.  This  will  serve 
as  a  direction  to  him  in  removing  the  stores  if  any  yet  remain 
at  Princeton.  I  would  have  no  time  lost  in  removing  the  Flour 
from  the  Mills  on  Millstone,  least  the  Enemy  should  attempt 
&  avail  themselves  of  it.  I  would  also  have  Genl.  Putnam 
draw  his  Forage  as  much  as  possible  from  the  Vicinity  of 
Brunswick,  that  the  Enemy  may  thereby  be  distressed." 

On  January  15th,  the  annoyed  Commander-in-chief 
expressed  himself  thus  in  another  letter  to  Reed  : 

"  Many  days  ago  I  wrote  to  Genl.  Putnam  supposing  him  to 
be  at  Princeton  to  have  the  stores  rescued  from  the  hands  of 
the  Militia  who  had  borne  them  off,  and  had  no  doubt  but  he 
had  done  it.  What  in  the  name  of  Heaven  can  he  be  doinp. 
at  Crosswicks  I  know  not,  after  my  repeated  wishes  to  hear  of 
him  at  Princeton.     Surely  he  is  there  by  this  time." 

By  the  21st  of  January,  Putnam  reached  Princeton 
without  having  met  with  the  opposition  from  the 
enemy  which  he  had  expected.  He  had  been  espe- 
cially wary,  for  many  of  the  men  under  his  command, 
whose  terms  of  enlistment  had  expired,  refused  to  re- 
main in  the  ranks  until  their  places  could  be  supplied 


34o  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

by  new  recruits.  With  his  diminished  army,  the 
General  was  gravely  apprehensive  of  the  result  of  an 
encounter  with  a  hostile  force. 

Among  the  sick  and  wounded  British  prisoners  at 
Princeton,  was  Captain  McPherson  of  the  17th  Regi- 
ment of  the  royal  army.  This  Scotchman  had  been 
shot  near  the  lungs  by  a  musket  ball  in  the  battle 
of  Princeton.  When  the  British  fell  back  before  the 
Americans,  he  had  been  left  in  the  town  and,  until 
Putnam  took  possession  of  the  place,  he  had  received 
little  attention  from  the  surgeon.  The  General,  on 
finding  the  neglected  and  suffering  Scotchman,  secured 
medical  attendance  at  once  for  him  and  showed  so 
much  kindness  that  the  wounded  man  could  hardly 
believe  that  his  benefactor  belonged  to  the  "  rebel" 
army. 

"  Pray,  sir,  what  countryman  are  you  ?  "  McPherson 
is  said  to  have  asked  Putnam. 

"  An  American,"  was  the  answer. 

1 '  Not  a  Yankee  ? ' '  quickly  came  the  query  from 
the  sick  bed. 

"  A  full-blooded  one,"  replied  the  General  with  em- 
phatic and  good-humoured  pride. 

"  By  God,  I  am  sorry  for  that,"  rejoined  McPherson; 
"  I  did  not  think  there  could  be  so  much  goodness  and 
generosity  in  an  American,  or,  indeed,  in  anybody  but 
a  Scotchman  !  ' ' 

There  is  another  story  relating  to  Putnam  and  Mc- 
Pherson, for  which,  as  well  as  the  one  just  told, 
Humphreys  is  the  authority.  It  seems  that  the 
wounded  officer,  who  was  doubtful  of  recovery,  asked 
if  a  friend  in  the  British  army  stationed  at  Brunswick 
might  come  to  see  him.  Putnam  was,  at  first,  some- 
what perplexed  what  to  do.     He  was  unwilling  that 


i777]     At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    34  * 

the  enemy  should  have  any  opportunity  to  learn  how 
few  American  troops  there  were  at  Princeton,  and  yet 
he  was  too  tender-hearted  to  deny  McPherson's  pathetic 
request.  An  expedient,  however,  soon  suggested  itself 
to  the  resourceful  General.  He  dispatched  a  messenger 
under  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  British  camp,  with  instruc- 
tions not  to  return  with  McPherson's  friend  until  after 
dark.  In  the  evening,  lights  were  placed  in  all  the 
rooms  of  the  College  buildings  and  in  every  apart- 
ment of  the  houses  throughout  the  town.  During  the 
entire  night,  Putnam  manoeuvred  his  insignificant 
force,  sometimes  altogether  and  sometimes  in  small 
detachments,  past  the  room  where  McPherson  and  his 
friend  were.  It  was  afterwards  learned  that  the  vis- 
itor, on  his  return  to  Brunswick,  reported  to  the  Brit- 
ish commander  that  the  American  troops  at  Princeton 
could  not,  by  the  lowest  estimate,  number  less  than 
four  or  five  thousand  men.  Thus  did  Putnam  ingen- 
iously succeed  in  complying  with  Washington's  wish 
that  he  deceive  the  enemy  into  believing  that  his  force 
was  many  times  greater  than  it  actually  was. 

Putnam  was  continually  on  the  outlook  for  oppor- 
tunities to  harass  the  British,  who  had  been  compelled 
to  evacuate  West  Jersey.  His  division  formed  the 
right  wing  of  the  American  army,  of  which  the  main 
body  lay  encamped  with  Washington  at  Morristown, 
while  Heath's  division  on  the  Hudson  constituted  the 
left  wing.  The  post  at  Princeton,  within  a  few  miles 
of  Brunswick  and  Amboy,  whither  the  enemy  had 
withdrawn,  was  much  to  Putnam's  liking,  for  the 
men,  under  his  directions,  could  hover  in  small  scout- 
ing parties  about  the  British  in  winter  quarters,  inter- 
rupting their  communications,  cutting  off  their  supplies, 
and  surprising  their  foraging  parties  and  pickets. 


342  Israel  Putnam  [i776- 

In  a  letter  to  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Safety, 
Putnam  tells  of  the  brave  conduct  of  some  of  his  men  in 
capturing  certain  Tories,  in  the  pay  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, who  had  then  taken  post  at  Lawrence  Island 
in  the  Raritan  River  and  wTere  throwing  up  works 
there  : 

"Princeton,  Feb  18th,  1777. 
"  Gentlemen, 

"Last  night  Col.  Neilson,  with  a  party  of  about  150  men, 
attacked  sixty  belonging  to  Cortland  Skinner's  Brigade,  at 
Lawrence's  Island,  under  command  of  Majr  Richd  Stockton, 
formerly  an  Inhabitant  of  this  place  —  the  Enemy's  renowned 
land  Pilot — the  Colonel  took  the  whole,  among  which  were 
this  Stockton,  a  Captain  &  three  or  four  Subaltern  officers  ; 
the  enemy  had  four  killed,  and  one  wounded  —  we  had  one 
killed  —  this  you  may  depend  on  to  be  a  fact.  Col.  Neilson 
is  just  arrived  here.  I  shall  forward  the  prisoners  on  in  a 
day  or  two  to  you  —  50  of  the  Bedford  County  Riflemen  of 
your  State,  what  I  detached  from  this  place,  were  with  Col. 
Neilson — the  whole  officers  &  men,  both  belonging  to  that 
County  &the  Militia  of  this  State,  behaved  with  great  bravery, 
such  as  would  do  honour  to  veteran  Soldiers  ;  there  are  also 
thirty  or  sixty  stand  of  arms,  which  I  think  the  Middlesex 
Militia  ought  to  have.  The  Bearer  I  send  purposely  to  acquaint 
you  with  the  Circumstance. 

"I  am  Gentlemen,  with  Esteem, 

"  your  Hum  servt, 

"Israel  Putnam." 

The  captured  Stockton  and  his  men  needed  to  be 
guarded  with  special  precaution,  and  Putnam  gave 
strict  orders  to  the  officer  who  was  appointed  to  con- 
duct them  to  Philadelphia,  that  "  no  Indulgence  be 
allowed  the  Villains  which  affords  them  a  possibility 
of  escape."  When  Washington  heard  that  Stockton 
and  his  men  had  been  sent  down  to  Philadelphia  in 


1777]    At  Philadelphia  and  Princeton    343 

irons  and  were  kept  in  close  confinement  in  that  city, 
he  was  inclined  to  criticise  such  treatment  of  them. 
But  Putnam,  who  was  usually  lenient  to  prisoners,  ad- 
vised so  strongly  that  these  "  land  pirates  "  of  desperate 
character  be  severely  dealt  with,  that  they  were  kept 
awhile  longer  chained  in  guarded  cells.  Soon  after  the 
capture  of  the  Stockton  party,  the  British  sent  out  a 
foraging  band  towards  Bound  Brook,  but  these  ma- 
rauders were  repulsed  by  some  of  Putnam's  men,  who 
formed  an  ambush  and  surprised  the  enemy. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  winter,  the  Pennsylvania 
Board  of  War  sent  Putnam  the  news  that  a  "  most  vil- 
lainous plot,"  by  certain  disaffected  persons,  to  betray 
Philadelphia  to  the  British  had  been  discovered,  and 
also  that  a  message  had  been  received  from  Benjamin 
Franklin,  then  in  Paris,  reporting  prospect  of  aid  from 
the  French  Government  in  the  American  struggle  for 
liberty.  In  the  early  spring  of  1777  there  were  indica- 
tions of  a  general  military  movement  by  the  British. 
The  vigilant  Putnam  reported  immediately  to  the 
President  of  the  Continental  Congress  the  signs  of  the 
beginning  of  a  hostile  campaign,  which  evidently  had 
for  its  object  the  capture  of  Philadelphia. 


r — z    ;  u  a  * 

g§||£&4> 

»!P* 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THK   COMMAND   OF  THK   HUDSON   HIGHLANDS 

1777-1778 

LTHOUGH  it  seemed  probable  that  the 
British  at  Brunswick  and  Amboy  would 
open  the  campaign  of  1777  by  advan- 
cing against  Philadelphia,  Washington 
did  not  confine  his  attention  to  the  pre- 
parations for  the  defence  of  that  city. 
Fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  guarding  the  Hudson 
River,  to  prevent  communication  by  the  enemy  with 
Canada,  he  decided  to  put  a  major-general  in  command 
of  the  Highlands,  while  he  himself,  with  the  main 
army,  stood  ready  to  move  southward  and  thwart  any 
attempt  by  General  Howe  to  capture  Philadelphia. 
Benedict  Arnold,  who  had  just  been  raised  to  the  rank 
of  major-general  for  gallant  conduct  in  repelling 
marauders  whom  Tory-Governor  Tryon  had  led  into 
Connecticut,  seemed  a  suitable  officer  for  the  chief 
command  on  the  Hudson,  but  he  was  too  much  occu- 
pied in  seeking  a  "  vindication  "  for  a  slight  which  he 
felt  that  Congress  had  passed  upon  him  by  some  recent 
promotions.  Putnam  was  then  selected  for  the  High- 
lands, and  was  ordered  to  Peekskill,  which,  on  account 
of  its  central  location  on  the  Hudson,  had  been  desig- 

344 


[1777-78]     The  Hudson  Highlands  345 

nated  as  the  encampment  for  nearly  all  the  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York  recruits.  To  Brigadier-General 
Alexander  McDougall,  who  had  succeeded  Heath  in 
charge  of  the  troops  there,  Washington  wrote  on  May 
16th,  telling  him  that  Putnam  would  soon  arrive  to 
take  the  chief  command  of  that  department,  and  he 
added  : 

"  You  are  well  acquainted  with  the  old  gentleman's  temper ; 
he  is  active,  disinterested,  and  open  to  conviction,  and  I  there- 
fore hope,  that,  by  affording  him  the  advice  and  assistance, 
which  your  knowledge  of  the  post  enables  you  to  do,  you  will 
be  very  happy  in  your  command  under  him." 

On  reaching  Peekskill,  Putnam,  in  accordance  with 
Washington's  instructions,  directed  his  "  particular 
and  immediate  attention  to  fixing  the  boom  "  for 
greater  security  against  any  attempt  by  the  British 
vessels  to  force  a  passage  up  the  Hudson.  This  ob- 
struction of  the  river,  recently  recommended  by  a 
special  committee  consisting  of  Greene,  Knox,  and 
other  general  officers,  was  to  extend  from  Fort  Mont- 
gomery— which,  with  its  companion  stronghold,  Fort 
Clinton,  stood  on  the  western  side  of  the  Hudson  —  to 
the  opposite  shore,  where  rose  the  sharp  promontory 
known  as  St.  Anthony's  Nose.  After  taking  prelimin- 
ary steps  towards  the  construction  of  the  proposed 
boom  and  chain,  Putnam  assumed  the  command  in  per- 
son at  Peekskill.  He  established  his  headquarters  at 
the  house  of  John  Mandeville.*  Here  a  letter  dated 
"  Morristown,  May  25,  1777,"  reached  him  from 
Washington,  suggesting  an  expedition  down  the  Hud- 
son to  surprise  the  British  detachment  at  Kingsbridge. 

*  Congressional  Report,  No.  452,  35th  Congress.  The  Gen- 
eral Orders  of  Putnam  in  the  Highlands  have  been  edited  by 
W.  C.  Ford. 


346  Israel  Putnam 


[1777- 


On  May  28th,  Washington  marched  his  troops  from 
Morristown  to  the  heights  of  Middlebrook,  within  ten 
miles  of  Brunswick,  in  order  to  keep  General  Howe 
from  pushing  across  New  Jersey  to  Philadelphia.  The 
British  manoeuvres  to  force  the  American  army  from 
its  new  position  resulted  in  the  abandonment  by  Put- 
nam of  the  project  to  surprise  the  enemy's  force  at 
Kingsbridge,  for,  before  he  had  time  to  undertake  the 
enterprise,  Washington  ordered  him  to  send  forward  to 
New  Jersey,  Generals  Parsons,  McDougall,  and  Glover, 
with  all  the  Continental  troops  at  Peekskill,  except  one 
thousand  men,  which  number,  in  conjunction  with  the 
militia  at  that  post,  was  deemed  equal  to  the  number 
of  the  enemy  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson. 

At  last,  after  fruitless  efforts  to  bring  on  a  general 
engagement  or  to  outflank  the  Americans,  Howe  with- 
drew on  June  30th  from  New  Jersey,  taking  his  whole 
force  over  to  Staten  Island.  A  few  days  before  this 
evacuation  by  the  British,  Washington  had  learned 
that  General  Burgoyne,  with  a  hostile  force,  was  mov- 
ing down  from  Canada  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain, 
and  also  that  Colonel  St.  Leger  had  gone  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  wrould  lead  British 
troops,  Canadians,  and  Indians  through  the  Mohawk 
Valley.  On  receiving  this  news,  the  American  Com- 
mander-in-chief dispatched  orders  to  Putnam  to  hold 
in  readiness  to  move  up  the  Hudson  River,  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice,  four  regiments  of  Massachusetts  troops 
which  were  then  at  Peekskill,  and  also  to  hire  sloops  at 
Albany  for  their  transportation.  Immediately  after 
the  departure  of  Howe's  army  from  New  Jersey, 
another  message  was  hurried  off  to  the  General  in  the 
Highlands,  telling  him  that  the  British  troops  under 
Howe  would  probably  ascend  the  Hudson  River  and 


i778i  The  Hudson  Highlands  347 

attempt  to  force  the  passes  of  the  Highlands.  This 
news  caused  great  excitement  among  the  soldiers  at 
Peekskill.  Putnam  made  some  effort  to  obtain  addi- 
tional militia,  in  accordance  with  Washington's  urgent 
instructions,  but,  with  his  wonted  good  humour  and  un- 
daunted spirit,  he  devoted  his  chief  attention  to  em- 
boldening the  men  already  with  him. 

The  loss  of  Ticonderoga  was  reported  in  the  Peeks- 
kill  camp  on  July  9th,  but,  as  Webb,  Putnam's  former 
aide-de-camp,  who  was  now  colonel  of  a  Connecticut 
regiment,  records  in  his  journal,  "  General  Putnam 
did  not  credit  the  intelligence."  The  rumour  of  the 
disaster  was,  however,  soon  confirmed  by  later  tidings 
in  a  letter  from  Washington  who,  after  the  evacuation 
of  New  Jersey  by  the  British,  had  moved  back  from 
Middlebrook  to  Morristown,  and  was,  with  his  troops  at 
Pompton,  ready  to  co-operate  with  Putnam  in  the 
Highlands  at  a  moment's  notice.  From  Pompton 
Washington  hastened  with  his  troops  to  Ramapo  Clove, 
a  rugged  defile  in  the  Highlands,  near  Haverstraw, 
and  sent  the  divisions  of  Sullivan  and  Stirling  across 
the  Hudson  River  to  Peekskill.  On  July  20th  he  ad- 
vanced eleven  miles  within  the  Clove,  in  consequence 
of  a  rumour  that  the  British  were  approaching  from 
New  York.  The  alarm  proved  to  be  false,  and  on  July 
24th,  Washington  and  his  troops  were  again  near  the 
entrance  of  the  Clove.  Meantime,  Putnam  received 
urgent  messages  from  the  Commander-in-chief,  bidding 
him  to  obtain  all  the  information  possible  in  regard  to 
the  enemy's  movements.  It  was  soon  found  that  the 
British  fleet  of  more  than  two  hundred  ships,  carrying 
an  army  of  eighteen  thousand  men,  had  sailed  out  of 
New  York  Harbour,  and  that  seven  thousand  men 
under  Sir  Henry  Clinton  remained  to  hold  the  city. 


348  Israel  Putnam  l*Tn- 

Hitherto,  during  July,  Howe's  "  conduct"  had  been 
"  extremely  embarrassing,"  but  Washington  now  felt 
sure  that  the  British  commander  was  bound  for  Phila- 
delphia. The  American  divisions  under  Sullivan  and 
Stirling  were,  therefore,  ordered  down  from  Peekskill 
to  increase  the  force  for  the  protection  of  Philadelphia. 

But  Putnam,  misled  by  an  intercepted  letter  from 
Howe  to  Burgoyne,  which  had  just  been  brought  into 
the  Peekskill  camp,  and  which  the  British  Commander- 
in-chief  had  artfully  contrived  should  fall  into  American 
hands,  could  not  believe  that  the  enemy  had  actually 
departed  for  Philadelphia.  He  thought  their  destina- 
tion must  be  Boston,  and  that  they  would  return  and 
ascend  the  Hudson  River.  He  accordingly  wrote  to 
Washington  on  July  24th  to  that  effect,  and  enclosed 
the  intercepted  letter,  which  was  in  the  handwriting  of 
General  Howe.  Washington  was  not  deceived  by 
Howe's  artifice,  and  urged  Putnam,  who  was  loath  to 
detach  troops,  to  send  on  the  reinforcement.  Putnam 
was  still  of  the  opinion  that  Washington  was  mis- 
taken, and  reluctantly  forwarded  the  divisions  of  Sulli- 
van and  Stirling.  He  objected  again  to  having  his 
force  in  the  Highlands  weakened,  but  was  obliged  to 
comply  with  another  message  from  the  Commander-in- 
chief  and  send  McDougall's  and  Huntington's  brigades 
to  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  where  they  were  to 
be  in  readiness  to  march  on  the  arrival  of  further 
orders.  The  number  of  soldiers  at  Peekskill  and  in 
that  vicinity  was  reduced  to  less  than  three  thousand. 
"  You  will  see,  sir,"  wrote  Putnam  to  Washington, 
"  how  exposed  and  weak  we  are  at  this  post,  as  well  as 
the  whole  Eastern  country  in  case  an  attack  is  made  on 
any  part." 

Meantime,  Washington,  with  the  main  body  of  troops, 


1773]  The  Hudson  Highlands  349 

had  set  out  for  the  Delaware.  On  reaching  Coryell's 
Ferry,  he  learned  that  the  enemy's  fleet  had  arrived  at 
the  Capes  of  Delaware.  This  important  information 
was  communicated  at  once  to  Putnam. 


"  You  will  therefore  please  to  order  the  two  brigades,"  said 
Washington  in  announcing  the  news  to  the  General,  "which 
were  thrown  over  the  North  River  to  march  immediately 
towards  Philadelphia  through  Morristown  and  over  Coryell's 
Ferry,  where  boats  will  be  ready  for  them.  The  troops  are  to 
march  as  expeditiously  as  possible  without  injuring  the  men.  I 
beg  you  will  endeavour  to  make  up  your  garrison  with  militia 
from  Connecticut  and  New  York,  as  soon  as  possible  ;  and  I 
desire  that  you  will  forward  this  account  by  express  to  General 
Schuyler  and  to  the  Eastern  States.  I  hope,  as  they  now  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  General  Howe,  that  they  will  turn  out 
their  force  both  Continental  and  militia  to  oppose  Burgoyne." 

Washington  pushed  on  with  his  army  towards  Phila- 
delphia, but  what  was  his  surprise  on  his  arrival  at 
Chester  to  hear  that  the  British  fleet  had  put  out  to  sea 
again  !  He  now  suspected  that,  after  all,  the  whole 
movement  had  been  a  feint  and  that  Howe  would  at 
once  return  to  the  Hudson.  Sullivan's  division  and 
McDougaH's  and  Huntington's  brigades  were  therefore 
ordered  back  to  the  Highlands,  and  Washington  held 
himself  ready  to  follow  as  soon  as  the  British  plans 
could  be  more  definitely  ascertained.  A  week  went  by 
and  things  became  hourly  more  perplexing. 

At  this  critical  period,  when  the  enemy  might  soon 
come  up  the  Hudson,  Putnam  was  exercising  his 
authority  in  the  Highlands  with  a  firm  hand.  Severe 
punishment  was  in  store  for  all  persons  who  deserted 
from  the  American  ranks.  After  an  offender  had  been 
executed  at  Peekskill,  this  notice  was  posted  : 


35°  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

"  I  wish  that  all  who  have  any  inclination  to  join  our  enemies 
from  motives  of  fear,  ambition  or  avarice,  would  take  warning 
by  this  example  and  avoid  the  dreadful  calamaties  that  will 
inevitably  follow  such  vile  and  treasonable  practices. 

11  Israel  Putnam."  * 

The  fearless  energy  of  the  General  was  evinced  by 
the  way  in  which  he  dealt  with  British  spies.  The 
proceedings  of  the  court  martial  f  at  Peekskill  show 
that  "  Edmund  Palmer  was  arraigned  and  tried  upon 
a  Charge  of  Plundering,  robbing,  and  carrying  off 
Cattle,  Goods,  &c,  from  the  well-affected  Inhabitants 
and  for  being  a  Spy  for  the  Enemy."  The  evidence 
against  Palmer  was  overwhelming,  and  the  "  Noted 
Tory  Robber  and  Spy  "  was  condemned  to  be  hanged. 
Putnam  "  approved  the  sentence  "  and  issued  an  order 
for  all  the  troops  to  parade  "  on  ye  hill,  By  the  gal- 
lows "  on  Friday  morning,  August  8,  1777,  to  witness 
the  execution.  Before  the  appointed  date  for  the 
hanging,  Captain  Montague,  in  the  British  ship  The 
Mercury,  brought  a  message  under  a  flag  of  truce  to 
Verplanck's  Point  and  it  was  forwarded  from  there 
to  Peekskill.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  was  in  charge 
of  the  British  troops  in  New  York,  had  sent  up  to  claim 
Palmer  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  King's  service.  He 
asserted  that  the  American  general  represented  no 
acknowledged  sovereignty,  and  so  could  not  possess 
any  legal  authority  for  inflicting  the  death-penalty. 
He  threatened  vengeance  if  Palmer  should  be  executed. 
But  Putnam,  with  prompt  decision  and  unswerving  de- 
termination, sent  back  this  terse  and  bold  reply  : 

*  From  the  original  document  owned  by  Frederick  L,ally,  of 
Ivansingburgh,  N.  Y. 

f  Calendar  of  New  York  Historical  Manuscripts,  vol.  ii., 
p.  258. 


i778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  35 l 

"  Head-Quarters,  7  August,  1777. 
"  Edmund    Palmer,    an   officer  in  the  enemy's  service,  was 
taken  as  a  spy  lurking  within  our  lines  ;  he  has  been  tried  as  a 
spy,  condemned  as  a  spy,  and  shall  be  executed  as  a  spy,  and 
the  flag  is  ordered  to  depart  immediately. 

"  Israel  Putnam." 
"  P.  S.     He  has  been  accordingly  executed."  * 

During  nearly  the  whole  of  August  the  whereabouts 
of  Howe's  fleet  remained  a  mystery  to  the  Americans. 
Washington  kept  the  main  army  in  a  position  from 
which  it  could  move  quickly  either  toward  Philadelphia 
or  towards  the  Hudson.  The  farmer-soldiers  in  the 
Highlands,  who  little  realised  the  exigencies  of  the 
campaign,  became  anxious,  when  autumn  approached, 
to  go  home  for  harvest  work,  and  it  was  with  dif- 
ficulty that  they  were  prevailed  upon  to  continue  in 
the  service. 

"The  Season  of  the  Year,"  said  Washington,  in  reply  to  a 
letter  from  Putnam,  who  had  reported  the  restlessness  of  his 
men,  "is,  to  be  sure,  inconvenient  for  the  militia  to  be  out  ; 
but  the  necessity  of  the  case  requires  that  as  many  as  possibly 
can  must  be  retained  in  the  service  ;  for  if  General  Burgoyne 
persists  in  his  advance  upon  our  northern  army,  we  must  afford 
them  support,  or  suffer  him  to  make  himself  master  of  all  the 
Country  above." 

Burgoyne,  in  his  advance  from  Ticonderoga,  had 
already  captured  Fort  Edward  and,  notwithstanding 
the  obstinate  resistance  by  the  Americans,  had  forced 
Schuyler's  army  as  far  south  as  Stillwater,  about  thirty 
miles  above  Albany.  St.  Leger,  with  his  motley  force 
from  Oswego,  had  made  his  way  through  the  woods  of 

*  Some  writers,  in  quoting  this  famous  message,  give  Palm- 
er's first  name  as  "  Nathan,"  but  the  official  records  show  that 
it  was  "  Edmund." 


352  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

Central  New  York  and  was  before  Fort  Stanwix  in  the 
Mohawk  Valley.  But  both  of  these  divisions  of  the 
British  army  received  a  check  in  August — Burgoyne's 
troops,  by  the  "  great  stroke  struck  by  General  Stark 
near  Bennington,"  as  Washington  afterwards  called 
the  brilliant  victory  of  Putnam's  old  comrade;  St. 
Leger's  Tories  and  Indians,  by  the  heroic  advance  of 
General  Herkimer  and  his  men  to  meet  the  enemy  in 
a  bloody  hand-to-hand  encounter  which  relieved  Fort 
Stanwix.  The  news  of  these  successes  reached  the 
Peekskill  camp  just  about  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  a 
message  which  announced  that  Howe  had  at  last  ap- 
peared at  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  was  landing 
his  forces.  Affairs  northward  and  southward  seemed 
to  put  the  Highlands  out  of  immediate  danger  of  an 
attack,  and  Putnam  now  yielded  to  the  earnest  solicita- 
tions of  some  of  his  men  and  permitted  them  to  go  home 
for  the  harvest  farming.  Unfortunately,  the  recruits 
were  not  as  quickly  supplied  as  the  General  expected. 
Several  regiments  of  New  York  militia  were  forwarded 
to  Peekskill  by  Governor  George  Clinton,  who  was  at 
Fort  Montgomery,  but  Putnam  was  soon  sorely  in  need 
of  more  troops,  for  Washington  met  with  adversity  at 
Brandywine  Creek,  in  the  attempt  to  oppose  the  British 
on  their  march  against  Philadelphia,  and  sent  for  re- 
inforcements from  the  Highlands.  In  the  emergency, 
Putnam  endeavoured  to  get  men  from  his  own  colony, 
as  appears  from  the  stirring  letter  which  he  addressed 
to  the  "  Colonels  and  other  officers  of  the  Army  and 
Militia  of  Connecticut "  : 

"Peek's  Hiu,,  Sept.  14,  1777,  eleven  o'clock,  p.m. 

"  Gentlemen,  —     .     .     .     This  moment  arrived  an  express 
from  Congress,  containing  advices  that  there  has  been  a  severe 


1778]         The  Hudson  Highlands  353 

action  [Battle  of  Brandywine]  between  General  Washington 
and  General  How  last  Thursday,  [Sept  n]  in  which  the  former 
was  obliged  to  retire  with  the  loss  of  several  field-pieces  ;  and, 
in  consequence  thereof,  the  Congress  have  ordered  fifteen  hun- 
dred men  to  be  immediately  sent  from  here  to  re-enforce 
General  Washington ;  which  obliges  me,  for  the  common 
safety,  to  call  upon  all  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Continen- 
tal troops  and  militia  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  that  have  not 
special  license  to  be  absent,  immediately  to  repair  to  this  post, 
for  the  aid  and  defence  thereof,  and  to  defeat  and  crush  our 
cruel  and  perfidious  foes.  And  would  we,  my  countrymen,  for 
once  lay  aside  our  avarice,  oppression,  and  evil  works,  for 
which  the  land  mourns,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  dis- 
tressed and  terrified,  and  unitedly  exert  ourselves  like  freemen, 
resolved  on  freedom,  through  the  smiles  of  Heaven  we  should 
put  a  speedy  end  to  those  unnatural  disturbers  of  our  peace, 
and,  with  them,  a  period  to  this  unhappy  and  bloody  war, 
which  now  ravages  and  desolates  our  country,  and  threatens 
its  inhabitants  and  their  posterity  with  the  most  dismal  ruin 
and  abject  slavery.  Such  casualties  are  incident  to  human 
affairs,  the  natural  result  of  general  national  depravity  ;  and 
are  avoidable  only  by  reformation  and  amendment  in  the  pub- 
lic manners  of  a  people. 

"  Awake,  then,  to  virtue  and  to  great  military  exertion,  and 
we  shall  put  a  speedy  and  happy  issue  to  this  mighty  contest. 

"  Israel  Putnam." 

Washington  had  withdrawn  nearly  all  the  American 
troops  from  New  Jersey  to  his  aid  in  protecting  Phila- 
delphia. The  British  in  New  Yoik  City  seized  the 
opportunity  to  make  incursions  into  the  country.  As 
soon  as  Putnam  heard  of  these  marauding  expeditions, 
he  ordered  General  McDougall  to  cross  the  Hudson 
with  fifteen  hundred  men,  but  the  detachment  was  not 
in  time  to  overtake  a  plundering  party  that  was  retreat- 
ing before  a  small  force  under  Aaron  Burr,  who  had 
recently  resigned  as  Putnam's  aide-de-camp  to  become 

lieutenant-colonel  in  Malcolm's  New  York  regiment, 
23 


354  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

stationed  at  Ramapo.  The  apparent  necessity  of  guard- 
ing against  further  hostile  ravages  in  New  Jersey,  and 
also  against  any  attempt  by  the  British  in  New  York  to 
pass  up  the  Hudson  and  join  Burgoyne's  army,  led 
Putnam  to  feel  justified  in  withholding  for  a  while  the 
reinforcement  which  he  was  expected  to  send  from  the 
Highlands  to  Philadelphia.  In  fact,  he  had  formed  a 
plan  for  a  separate  attack  on  the  British  at  Staten 
Island,  Paulus  Hook,  York  Island,  and  Long  Island. 
He  had  been  encouraged  by  Governor  Trumbull  to 
expect  a  large  number  of  militiamen  from  Connecticut 
for  this  purpose.  With  these  reinforcements  and  the 
troops  already  at  Peekskill,  together  with  the  men  who 
might  be  obtained  from  the  different  outposts,  the 
General,  who  had  received  full  information  in  regard 
to  the  enemy's  strength  in  New  York,  believed  he 
could  acccomplish  his  object.  But  Putnam's  project 
was  summarily  put  to  an  end  by  Washington,  who  saw 
no  special  advantage  to  be  gained  in  trying  to  recapture 
New  York  at  present.  The  defence  of  Philadelphia 
seemed  to  the  Commander-in-chief  the  paramount 
necessity,  and  he  wrote  to  Putnam,  expressing  himself 
very  strongly  on  the  subject,  and  called  for  a  reinforce- 
ment. The  desired  detachment  was  forwarded  to 
Washington,  but  the  departure  of  the  men  from  Peeks- 
kill  was  followed  by  the  news  that  the  British  force  in 
New  York  had  been  increased  by  the  arrival  of  troops 
from  England.  Putnam  now  became  gravely  appre- 
hensive of  an  advance  up  the  Hudson  by  the  enemy. 
His  worst  fears  were  soon  to  be  realised,  for  it  was  all 
too  true  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  planning  to  move 
up  the  Hudson  with  his  reinforcement  and  make  a 
passage  for  the  British  ships  to  Albany.  The  distress- 
ing and  disheartening  story  of  the  manoeuvres  of  the 


i778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  355 

enemy,  and  how,  after  the  fall  of  the  American  forts, 
Putnam  was  compelled  to  abandon  Peekskill  and  take 
post  at  Fishkill,  fourteen  miles  above,  is  told  in  the 
General's  own  words  to  Washington,  who  had  himself 
met  with  defeat.  Philadelphia  was  lost,  and  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief had  been  forced  from  the  battlefield 
near  Germantown  to  the  hills  above  Whitemarsh. 
There  he  received  this  account  of  the  disaster  in  the 
Hudson  Highlands  : 

"  FiSHKiu,,  6  o'clock,  Wednesday  morning, 
"8  October,  1777. 

"DEAR  GENERAL, — It  is  with  the  utmost  reluctance  I  now 
sit  down  to  inform  you  that  the  enemy,  after  making  a  variety 
of  movements  up  and  down  the  North  River,  landed,  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th  instant,  about  three  thousand  men,  at 
Tarrytown  ;  and,  after  making  an  excursion  about  five  miles  up 
the  country,  they  returned  and  embarked.  The  morning  follow- 
ing they  advanced  up  near  King's  Ferry,  and  landed  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river ;  but  in  the  evening  part  of  them  reembarked, 
and,  the  morning  after,  landed  a  little  above  King's  Ferry,  on 
the  west  side  ;  but  the  morning,  being  so  exceeding  foggy,  con- 
cealed their  scheme,  and  prevented  us  from  gaining  any  idea 
what  number  of  troops  they  landed.  In  about  three  hours  we 
discovered  a  large  fire  at  the  Ferry,  which  we  imagined  to  be 
the  store-houses,  upon  which  it  was  thought  they  only  landed 
with  a  view  of  destroying  the  said  houses. 

"The  picket  and  scouts,  which  we  had  out,  could  not  learn 
the  exact  number  of  the  enemy  that  were  remaining  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  ;  but,  from  the  best  accounts,  they  were 
about  fifteen  hundred.  At  this  same  time  a  number  of  ships, 
galleys,  &c,  with  about  forty  fiat-bottomed  boats,  made  every 
appearance  of  their  intentions  to  land  troops,  both  at  Fort  In- 
dependence and  Peekskill  Landing. 

"  Under  all  these  circumstances,  my  strength,  being  not  more 
than  twelve  hundred  Continental  troops  and  three  hundred 
militia,  prevented  me  from  detaching  off  a  party  to  attack  the 
enemy  that  lay  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.     After  we  had 


356  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

thought  it  impracticable  to  quit  the  heights,  which  we  had 
then  possession  of,  and  attack  the  enemy,  Brigadier-General 
Parsons  and  myself  went  to  reconnoitre  the  ground  near  the 
enemy,  and,  on  our  return  from  thence,  we  were  alarmed  with 
a  very  heavy  and  hot  firing,  both  of  small  arms  and  cannon,  at 
Fort  Montgomery,  which  immediately  convinced  me  that  the 
enemy  had  landed  a  large  body  of  men  at  the  time  and  place 
before  mentioned.  Upon  which,  I  immediately  detached  off 
five  hundred  men  to  reenforce  the  garrison.  But  before  they 
could  possibly  cross  the  river  to  their  assistance,  the  enemy, 
who  were  far  superior  in  numbers,  had  possessed  themselves  of 
the  fort.  Never  did  men  behave  with  more  spirit  and  alacrity 
than  our  troops  upon  this  occasion.  They  repulsed  the  enemy 
three  times,  which  were  in  number  at  least  five  to  one.  Gov- 
ernor Clinton  and  General  James  Clinton  were  both  present  ; 
but  the  engagement  continuing  until  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
gave  them  both  an  opportunity,  together  with  several  officers 
and  a  number  of  privates,  to  make  their  escape.  The  loss  of 
the  enemy  in  this  affair,  Governor  Clinton  thinks  must  be  very 
considerable.  Our  loss,  killed  and  wounded,  is  by  no  means 
equal  to  what  he  might  have  expected.  General  James  Clinton 
was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  but  I  hope  not  mortally.  Governor 
Clinton  arrived  at  Peekskill  the  same  evening,  about  eleven 
o'clock  ;  and,  with  the  advice  of  him,  General  Parsons,  and 
several  other  officers,  it  was  thought  impossible  to  maintain  the 
post  at  Peekskill  with  the  force  then  present  against  one  that 
the  enemy  might,  in  a  few  hours,  bring  on  the  heights  in  our 
rear.  It  was,  therefore,  agreed  that  the  stores  ought  to  be  im- 
mediately removed  to  some  secure  place,  and  the  troops  take 
post  at  Fishkill  until  a  reenforcemeut  oJf  militia  should  come 
to  their  aid. 

"  I  have  repeatedly  informed  your  Excellency  of  the  enemy's 
design  against  this  post ;  but,  from  some  motive  or  other,  you 
always  differed  with  me  in  opinion.  As  this  conjecture  of  mine 
has,  for  once,  proved  right,  I  cannot  omit  informing  you  that 
my  real  and  sincere  opinion  is,  that  they  now  mean  to  join 
General  Burgoyne,  with  the  utmost  despatch.  I  have  written 
General  Gates,  and  informed  him  of  the  situation  of  our  affairs 
in  this  quarter.     Governor  Clinton  is  exerting  himself  in  col- 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  357 

lecting  the  militia  of  this  State.  Brigadier-General  Parsons  I 
have  vSent  off  to  forward  in  the  Connecticut  militia,  which  are 
now  arriving  in  great  numbers.  I  therefore  hope  and  trust 
that,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  I  shall  be  able  to  oppose  the 
progress  of  the  enemy.  Time  will  not  permit  me  to  add  any 
thing  more  respecting  the  engagement,  only  that  our  loss  (I 
believe,  from  the  best  information)  does  not  exceed  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  prisoners.  This 
evening  I  intend  writing  you  again,  but  am  now  very  busy.  I 
am,  dear  General,  with  sincere  regard, 

"Your  very  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  Israel  Putnam."  * 

In  the  evening  Putnam  wrote  again  to  Washington, 
telling  him  the  plans  for  resisting  future  movements 
of  the  British,  and  giving  additional  details  in  regard  to 
the  loss  of  the  forts  in  the  Hudson  Highlands.  The 
enemy  were  successful  in  removing  the  chevaux-de- 
frise  which  had  been  labouriously  constructed.  They 
then  moved  farther  up  the  Hudson,  burning  such 
American  shipping  as  they  found  in  the  river  and  also 
houses  and  mills  on  the  shore.  The  misfortunes  could 
not  have  occurred  more  inopportunely  for  Putnam. 
His  wife,  accompanied  by  her  son,  Septimus  Gardiner, 
had  recently  arrived  at  the  Peekskill  headquarters  to 
spend  a  few  weeks.  The  young  man,  seventeen  years 
old  and  of  great  promise,  was  to  take  Burr's  place  as 
the  General's  aide-de-camp,  but  he  had  hardly  entered 
upon  his  duties  when  he  suddenly  sickened  and  died. 
Putnam  deeply  mourned  this  step-son,  to  whom  he  was 
much  attached  ;  and  the  shock  of  the  great  loss  en- 
feebled Mrs.  Putnam,  who  for  some  time  past  had  been 
far  from  strong.  The  excitement,  caused  by  the  fall 
of  the  forts  and  the  advance  of  the  British  up  the  river, 
was  too  much  for  the  sick  woman,  although  she  bore 

*  Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  i.,  p.  438. 


358  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

up  bravely  in  the  midst  of  the  general  consternation. 
She  became  so  seriously  ill,  that  Putnam  did  not  think 
it  advisable  to  remove  her  from  the  Beverly  Robinson 
house,  which  he  had  been  occupying  as  headquarters 
since  her  arrival  in  the  Highlands.  Notwithstanding 
his  intense  solicitude  for  his  wife,  the  General  was 
obliged  to  leave  her  on  account  of  the  military  exigen- 
cies of  the  hour.  He  provided  the  best  care  that  he 
could  for  her  comfort  and  safety,  and  then  joined  the 
troops  at  Fishkill. 

Putnam  and  Governor  Clinton,  as  was  arranged  be- 
tween them,  moved  with  their  respective  forces  north- 
ward, the  former  on  the  east  side  and  the  latter  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Hudson,  in  order  to  prevent  the  British 
from  landing  and  devastating  the  country,  and  also  to 
be  ready  to  fall  upon  their  rear  in  case  they  should 
proceed  to  Albany  and  attempt  to  co-operate  with 
Burgoyne.*  The  American  generals  were  unable, 
however,  to  keep  a  hostile  party  from  burning  the 
village  of  Kingston  and  from  going  up  the  river  as  far 
as  Livingston  Manor  and  committing  other  ravages 
by  fire.  As  a  means  of  disconcerting  the  enemy 
and  drawing  them  down  the  Hudson,  Putnam  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  turning  about  for  a  march  against 
New  York  City  with  all  the  Continental  troops,  in- 
cluding the  recruits  who  were  arriving  in  encouraging 
numbers  from  New  England.  He  accordingly  sent  a 
messenger  in  haste  to  Gates  at  Saratoga,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Schuyler,  for  his  advice  in  regard  to  such  a 
diversion.  Governor  Clinton,  whom  Putnam  had 
already  consulted,  did  not  favour  the  project,  and  ex- 
pressed his  opinion  that  "  moving  up  the  river  will  be 
the  most  practicable  method  to  be  taken."     Soon  came 

*  Public  Papers  of  Governor  George  Clinton,  vol.  ii. 


1 77s]  The  Hudson  Highlands  359 

a  reply  from  Gates,  who  also  discountenanced  Putnam's 
plan. 

"It  is  certainly  right,"  he  wrote,  "  to  collect  your  whole 
force,  and  push  up  the  east  side  of  the  river  after  the  enemy. 
You  may  be  sure  they  have  nothing  they  care  for  in  New  York. 
Then  why  should  you  attack  an  empty  town,  which  you  know 
to  be  untenable  the  moment  they  bring  their  men-of-war 
against  it  ?  " 

This  advice  from  Gates  was  accompanied  by  important 
news,  which  changed  the  aspect  of  American  affairs. 
At  last,  after  a  series  of  engagements,  Burgoyne's  army 
had  been  surrounded  and  cut  off  from  supplies,  and  the 
British  general  had  asked  for  a  parley  with  a  view  to 
surrender.  Welcome  as  was  this  intelligence,  it  reached 
Putnam  at  a  time  when  the  heavy  blow  of  domestic 
affliction  had  again  fallen.  His  wife  did  not  rally  from 
the  illness  which  had  weighted  his  heart  with  trouble. 
On  October  14th  she  passed  away.  Whether  or  not  the 
General  received  tidings  of  her  sinking  condition  in 
time  to  be  at  her  bedside  when  she  breathed  her  last, 
the  records  do  not  tell.  In  great  sorrow  of  soul,  the 
affectionate  husband  laid  away  the  form  of  his  beloved 
helpmeet  in  the  burying-ground  of  the  English  Church 
not  far  from  the  Robinson  house.  After  the  sad  cere- 
mony, Putnam  returned  to  Fishkill.  In  a  letter  to 
Washington,  dated  October  16th,  the  General  reported 
the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  He  stated  also 
that  his  own  force  amounted  to  about  six  thousand 
troops,  chiefly  militia,  and  that  General  Parsons,  with 
about  two  thousand  men,  had  marched  down  from 
Fishkill  and  reoccupied  Peekskill.  In  closing,  Putnam 
mentioned  his  personal  bereavement. 

On  October  20th,  Putnam  was  at  Red  Hook.     From 
there  he  forwarded  to  Washington  a  copy  of  the  terms 


360  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

of  Burgoyne's  surrender,  as  finally  agreed  upon  at 
Saratoga.  Gates,  impressed  by  his  own  greatness,  had 
neglected  to  send  any  dispatch  on  the  subject  of  the 
capitulation  directly  to  the  Commander-in-chief.  In 
acknowledging  the  communication  from  Putnam, 
Washington  suggested  a  combined  movement  of  all 
the  American  troops  in  the  Highlands  for  the  purpose 
of  pursuing  the  British  or  intercepting  them  and  taking 
possession  of  New  York,  but  before  his  message  reached 
Red  Hook,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  his  whole  force  of 
troops  and  shipping,  had  returned  down  the  Hudson  to 
the  city.  After  this  departure  of  the  enemy,  Putnam, 
who  had  been  patrolling  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
marched  his  men  down  to  Fishkill.  He  was  correct  in 
his  conjecture  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  given  up  all 
plans  for  attempting  anything  further  in  the  High- 
lands. That  British  general  was,  indeed,  preparing  to 
send  forward  large  reinforcements  to  General  Howe,  in 
order  to  reduce  the  American  forts  on  the  Delaware 
and  thus  hold  Philadelphia  more  securely.  Something, 
Putnam  felt,  must  be  done  to  cause  a  diversion  of  the 
enemy  in  New  York  and  thereby  prevent  more  hostile 
troops  from  being  forwarded  southward.  At  this 
juncture  he  had  word  from  Saratoga  that  additional 
detachments,  no  longer  needed  in  the  Northern  De- 
partment, were  on  their  way  to  join  him.  These 
patriotic  troops  were  Poor's,  Warner's,  Learned's,  and 
Paterson's  brigades,  Col.  Van  Schaick's  regiment,  and 
Morgan's  riflemen,  amounting  to  five  thousand  seven 
hundred  men,  which  force  would  make  Putnam's 
division  about  nine  thousand  strong,  exclusive  of  Mor- 
gan's corps,  the  artillery-men,  and  the  militia  from 
Connecticut  and  New  York.  On  learning  that  his 
army  in  the  Highlands  would  be  thus  increased,  the 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  361 

General  at  once  called  together  his  principal  officers  to 
decide  upon  a  disposition  of  the  troops  whereby  the 
object  of  diverting  the  British  in  New  York  could  be 
accomplished.  The  unanimous  advice  was  that  four 
thousand  men  should  move  down  the  west  side  of  the 
Hudson  and  take  post  near  Haverstraw  ;  that  one 
thousand  should  be  retained  in  the  Highlands  to  guard 
the  country  and  repair  the  forts  which  the  enemy  had 
evacuated  ;  and  that  the  remainder  of  Putnam's  troops 
should  march  down  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  towards 
Kingsbridge, except  Morgan's  corps,  which  was  ordered 
immediately  to  join  the  Commander-in-chief.*  This 
proposed  disposition  of  the  forces  had  for  its  object  not 
only  to  cause  a  diversion  of  the  British  in  New  York 
and  prevent  a  reinforcement  from  being  sent  to  General 
Howe,  but  also,  if  a  favourable  opportunity  presented 
itself,  to  attack  the  city. 

But  Putnam  met  with  obstacles  in  the  execution  of 
the  general  plan  which  had  been  decided  upon  in  the 
Council-of-War.  Before  the  arrival  of  any  of  the  ex- 
pected troops  from  the  north,  young  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, Washington's  aide-de-camp,  rode  into  the  Fishkill 
camp.  He  had  been  sent  to  seek  reinforcements  for 
the  army  in  Pennsylvania.  It  seems  that  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief wished  to  obtain  for  his  own  use  troops 
from  the  Northern  Department,  including  the  very 
men  wrhom  Putnam  hoped  to  employ  in  the  movement 
towards  New  York.  General  Dickinson,  who  was  sta- 
tioned at  Elizabethtown  Point,  had  a  large  enough  force, 
Washington  thought,  to  make  an  effectual  feint  in  the 
direction  of  New  York,  and  so  the  detachments  from  the 
North  should  be  sent  on  directly  to  strengthen  the  main 
American  army  in  Pennsylvania.     Hamilton  had  been 

*  Minutes  of  Council  of  War  at  Fishkill,  Oct.  31,  1777. 


362  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

authorised  to  demand  the  help  which  Gates,  blinded 
by  the  glamour  of  his  great  victory  over  Burgoyne,  was 
purposely  withholding  from  Washington.  On  reach- 
ing Putnam's  headquarters,  young  Hamilton  ordered 
the  General,  in  the  name  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  to 
forward  to  Pennsylvania,  Poor's  and  Learned' s  Con- 
tinental brigades  and  Warner's  militia  brigade,  which 
were  already  on  their  way  from  Albany  and  would 
probably  reach  Fishkill  within  a  few  hours.  He  also 
directed  that  other  troops,  expected  from  Gates,  should 
immediately  on  their  arrival  be  dispatched  southward, 
and  that  a  body  of  New  Jersey  militia,  which  was  about 
to  cross  to  Peekskill,  should  at  once  march  towards  Red 
Bank.  Washington's  messenger  then  mounted  a  fresh 
horse  and  sped  on  towards  Albany.  He  had  com- 
municated the  orders  at  Fishkill  in  a  manner  which 
hardly  exhibited  the  patient  and  tolerant  qualities  of  a 
wise  diplomat.  Such  summary  interference  with  the 
plan  for  the  employment  of  the  troops  in  moving  along 
the  lower  Hudson,  was  far  from  pleasing  to  the  old 
wolf-killer,  who  was  eager  to  beard  the  British  in  their 
New  York  den.  The  military  sins  which  Putnam 
forthwith  committed,  in  neglecting  to  comply  with  the 
instructions  to  part  with  the  reinforcements  from  the 
North,  were  not  caused  by  jealousy — the  feeling  which 
Lee  had  shown  towards  Washington  the  year  before, 
— or  by  the  spirit  of  insubordination  like  that  of  Gates 
in  the  present  campaign.  The  truth  is,  that  Putnam's 
military  capacity  was  being  put  to  a  severer  test  than 
at  any  previous  period  of  his  life.  He  could  not  take 
in,  on  a  large  scale,  the  critical  state  of  affairs  at  this 
time.  He  did  not  comprehend  that  Washington  must 
have  large  reinforcements  from  the  Northern  Army  to 
prevent  Howe  from  removing  the  obstructions  on  the 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  363 

Delaware  and  opening  a  free  communication  between 
Philadelphia  and  the  British  shipping.  Owing  to  his 
limited  vision,  Putnam  magnified  the  importance  of  the 
project  against  New  York  and  failed  to  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  Washington's  representative,  who,  al- 
though a  young  man  not  yet  twenty-one  years  old,  had 
a  clear  perception  of  the  military  exigencies  of  the  hour. 
When  Hamilton  returned  down  the  Hudson  from 
Albany,  where,  after  much  persistence,  he  had  finally 
obtained  Gates's  grudging  promise  to  forward  the 
troops  indispensable  to  Washington,  he  wTas  very 
indignant  to  find  that  Putnam  had  not  done  his  duty 
in  the  Highlands. 

"I  am  pained  beyond  expression,"  wrote  Hamilton  to 
Washington,  on  November  ioth,  from  New  Windsor,  "  to  in- 
form your  Excellency  that  on  my  arrival  here,  I  find  everything 
has  been  neglected  and  deranged  by  General  Putnam,  and  that 
the  two  brigades,  Poor's  and  Learned's,  still  remained  here  and 
on  the  other  side  the  river  at  Fishkill.  Colonel  Warner's 
militia,  I  am  told,  have  been  drawn  to  Peekskill,  to  aid  in  an 
expedition  against  New  York,  which,  it  seems,  is  at  this  time 
the  hobby-horse  with  General  Putnam.  Not  the  least  attention 
has  been  paid  to  my  order,  in  your  name,  for  a  detachment  of 
one  thousand  men  from  the  troops  hitherto  stationed  at  that 
post.  Everything  is  sacrificed  to  the  whim  of  taking  New 
York.  ...  By  Governor  Clinton's  advice,  I  have  sent  an 
order,  in  the  most  emphatical  terms,  to  General  Putnam,  imme- 
diately to  despatch  all  the  Continental  troops  under  him  to  your 
assistance  ;  and  to  detain  the  militia  instead  of  them.    .    .    ."  * 

Here  is  the  peremptory  order,  which,  as  we  learn 
from  the  foregoing  letter,  Hamilton  sent  to  the  brave- 
hearted  but  wrong-headed  Putnam  : 


*  Works  of  Alexander  Hamilton,   ed.  by  J.  C.  Hamilton, 
vol.  i. 


364  Israel  Putnam  [1777- 

"  Head-Quarters,  New  Windsor, 
"  9  November,  1777. 

"Sir, — I  cannot  forbear  confessing,  that  I  am  astonished 
and  alarmed  beyond  measure,  to  find  that  all  his  Excellency's 
views  have  been  hitherto  frustrated,  and  that  no  single  step  of 
those  I  mentioned  to  you  has  been  taken  to  afford  him  the  aid 
he  absolutely  stands  in  need  of,  and  by  delaying  which,  the 
cause  of  America  is  put  to  the  utmost  conceivable  hazard. 

"  I  so  fully  explained  to  you  the  General's  situation,  that  I 
could  not  entertain  a  doubt  you  would  make  it  the  first  object 
of  your  attention  to  reenforce  him  with  that  speed  the  exigency 
of  affairs  demanded  ;  but,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  he  will  have  too 
much  reason  to  think  other  objects,  in  comparison  with  that 
insignificant,  have  been  uppermost.  I  speak  freely  and  em- 
phatically, because  I  tremble  at  the  consequences  of  the  delay 
that  has  happened.  General  Clinton's  reenforcement  is  prob- 
ably by  this  time  with  Mr.  Howe.  This  will  give  him  a  decisive 
superiority  over  our  army.  What  may  be  the  issue  of  such  a 
state  of  things,  I  leave  to  the  feelings  of  every  friend  to  his 
country,  capable  of  foreseeing  consequences.  My  expressions 
may  perhaps  have  more  warmth  than  is  altogether  proper  ;  but 
they  proceed  from  the  overflowing  of  my  heart,  in  a  matter 
where  I  conceive  this  Continent  essentially  interested.  I  wrote 
to  you  from  Albany,  and  desired  you  would  send  a  thousand 
Continental  troops  of  those  first  proposed  to  be  left  with  you. 
This,  I  understand,  has  not  been  done.  How  the  non-com- 
pliance can  be  answered  to  General  Washington,  you  can  best 
determine. 

"  I  now,  Sir,  in  the  most  explicit  terms,  by  his  Excellency's 
authority,  give  it  as  a  positive  order  from  him,  that  all  the  Con- 
tinental troops  under  your  command  may  be  immediately 
marched  to  King's  Ferry,  there  to  cross  the  river,  and  hasten 
to  reenforce  the  army  under  him. 

"  The  Massachusetts  militia  are  to  be  detained  instead  Jof 
them,  until  the  troops  coming  from  the  northward  arrive. 
When  they  do,  they  will  replace,  as  far  as  I  am  instructed,  the 
troops  you  shall  send  away  in  consequence  of  this  requisition. 
The  General's  idea  of  keeping  troops  this  way  does  not  extend 
farther  than  covering  the  country  from  any  little  irruptions  of 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  365 

small  parties,  and  carrying  on  the  works  necessary  for  the 
security  of  the  river.  As  to  attacking  New  York,  that  he  thinks 
ought  to  be  out  of  the  question  at  present.  If  men  could  be 
spared  from  the  other  really  necessary  objects,  he  would  have 
no  objections  to  attempting  a  diversion  by  way  of  New  York, 
but  nothing  farther. 

"  As  the  times  of  the  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
militia  will  soon  expire,  it  will  be  proper  to  call  in  time  for  a 
reenforcement  from  Connecticut.  Governor  Clinton  will  do  all 
in  his  power,  to  promote  objects  in  which  the  State  he  com- 
mands in  is  so  immediately  concerned.  General  Glover's  and 
Patterson's  brigades  are  on  their  way  down.  The  number  of 
the  Continental  troops  necessary  for  this  post  will  be  furnished 
out  of  them. 

"  I  cannot  but  have  the  fullest  confidence  you  will  use  your 
utmost  exertions  to  execute  the  business  of  this  letter ;  and  I 
am  with  great  respect,  Sir, 

"Your  most  obedient,  ALEXANDER  Hamii/Ton." 

On  receiving  this  emphatic  message  at  White  Plains, 
where  he  was  still  astride  of  what  Hamilton  called  the 
"  hobby-horse,"  the  expedition  against  New  York, 
Putnam  sent  the  letter,  which  he  felt  contained  "  some 
most  unjust  and  injurious  reflections"  upon  himself, 
to  Washington,  to  whom  he  had  already  written  for 
more  direct  orders  than  those  which  the  aide-de-camp 
had  delivered  on  arriving  in  the  Highlands.  Although 
the  New  York  enterprise  was  one  which  the  Comman- 
der-in-chief had  approved  of  when  it  was  suggested 
under  other  circumstances,  his  reply  to  Putnam  showed 
that  he  sanctioned  Hamilton's  course. 

"I  cannot  but  say,"  wrote  Washington  to  the  General, 
"  there  has  been  more  delay  in  the  march  of  the  troops,  than  I 
think  necessary  ;  and  I  could  wish  that  in  future  my  orders  may 
be  complied  with  without  arguing  upon  the  propriety  of  them." 

These  words  had  the  effect  of  unhorsing  the  veteran 
Putnam  from  his  hobby,  and,  without  further  protest, 


366  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

he  forwarded  the  needed  reinforcements  as  fast  as 
possible. 

After  the  departure  of  the  troops  from  Fishkill  to 
join  Washington  at  Whitemarsh,  Putnam,  with  a  part 
of  the  force  that  remained,  moved  down  the  east  side  of 
the  Hudson  towards  Kingsbridge.  He  reconnoitred 
in  person  within  three  miles  of  the  British  post,  to  see 
if  it  would  be  practicable  for  a  detachment  to  make  a 
diversion  in  that  direction  while  General  Dickinson 
with  about  fourteen  hundred  men  made  a  descent  upon 
Staten  Island.  On  finding  no  opportunity  to  act  with 
effect  at  Kingsbridge,  Putnam  led  his  troops  to  New 
Rochelle  and  arranged  for  them  to  cross  over  to  I^ong 
Island  and  attack  the  forts  at  Huntington  and  Setau- 
ket.  Before  the  preparations  for  transportation  could 
be  completed,  the  British  learned  of  the  intended  incur- 
sion and  evacuated  the  forts.  The  enemy  on  Staten 
Island  also  escaped  from  General  Dickinson. 

Other  enterprises,  planned  by  Putnam  in  late  No- 
vember^and  early  December,  were  more  successful.  Ou 
one  occasion  he  detached  several  parties,  of  one  hun- 
dred men  each,  to  prevent  the  depredations  of  numer- 
ous bands  of  marauders  sent  out  from  New  York  by 
Governor  Tryon.  The  Americans  took  seventy-five  or 
more  prisoners,  including  Colonel  James  DeL,ancey, 
whose  corps,  known  as  the  "  Cow-Boys, "  had  made 
free  with  the  cattle  of  Westchester  County.  Put- 
nam's scouts  also  punished  the  British,  for  setting  fire 
to  the  houses  of  patriotic  inhabitants,  by  burning  differ- 
ent residences,  one  of  which  belonged  to  the  loyalist 
General  Oliver  DeLancey.  This  method  of  "justi- 
fiable retaliation"  put  an  end,  for  the  time  being,  to 
the  enemy's  incendiary  practices. 

The  second  week  in  December,  Putnam,  who,  with 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  367 

his  men,  was  still  in  camp  near  Long  Island  Sound, 
entrusted  to  the  separate  command  of  General  Parsons 
and  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Webb,  an  enterprise  on  Long 
Island.  Unfortunately,  the  raid  was  only  partially 
successful,  for,  although  Parsons's  division  burned  a 
sloop  and  a  large  quantity  of  boards,  and  returned  with 
twenty  prisoners,  Webb's  division  fell  in  with  the 
British  war-ship  Falcon,  and  every  man  was  captured. 
Putnam  was  greatly  distressed  to  have  his  former  aide- 
de-camp  thus  taken  by  the  enemy.  Webb  was  made  a 
prisoner  just  at  a  time  when  no  more  enterprises  could 
be  undertaken  in  the  region  of  the  Sound,  for  a  letter 
had  come  to  Putnam  from  Washington,  emphasising 
the  fact  that,  of  greater  importance  than  any  attempt  to 
annoy  the  enemy  or  to  protect  the  outlying  country 
against  incursions,  was  the  necessity  of  defending  the 
Hudson  R.iver  and  rebuilding  the  demolished  fortifica- 
tions in  the  Highlands. 

Washington's  confidence  in  Putnam  had  undergone 
considerable  change  since  the  time  that  the  General 
was  first  put  in  command  of  the  Highlands.  He  had 
not  been  inclined  to  blame  Putnam  for  the  disasters  to 
the  forts  and  posts  when  the  British  made  their  Hud- 
son expedition  in  October,  because,  as  he  himself  said 
at  the  time,  on  learning  that  the  enemy  had  advanced 
up  the  river  from  New  York,  "  the  situation  of  our 
affairs  this  way  [Philadelphia]  has  obliged  us  to  draw 
off  so  large  a  part  of  our  force  from  Peekskill,  that 
what  now  remains  there  may  perhaps  prove  inadequate 
to  the  defence  of  it."  But  later  in  the  season,  when 
Sir  Henry  Clinton's  troops  had  returned  down  the 
Hudson  to  New  York,  and  it  was  all  important  that  the 
American  detachments  from  the  Northern  Department 
should  be  forwarded   to   Pennsylvania,  where   things 


368  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

were  in  an  extremely  critical  state,  the  conduct  of  Put- 
nam, in  persistently  attempting  to  carry  out  his  pet 
project  against  New  York,  and  in  neglecting  impera- 
tive orders,  strengthened  a  growing  conviction  in  the 
mind  of  Washington  that  the  General  was  hardly  the 
right  person  for  the  Highlands.  It  was  essential  that 
the  chief  commander  there  should  act  in  harmony  with 
the  general  plan  for  the  campaign,  and  not  devote  his 
time  exclusively  to  partisan  operations.  In  addition 
to  Hamilton's  unfavourable  report  concerning  the  Gen- 
eral, Washington  received  numerous  complaints  from 
inhabitants  of  New  York,  who  were  greatly  dissatisfied 
with  Putnam  after  the  enemy  had  forced  their  way  up 
the  Hudson  River  and  laid  waste  its  borders.  Besides 
having  personal  grievances  over  the  destruction  of 
their  property,  these  murmurers  found  fault  with  Put- 
nam's pliant  good  nature  in  granting  applications  for 
passports  to  New  York.  He  had  shown  an  "  over- 
share  of  complaisance  and  indulgence"  to  Tories,  and 
many  of  them,  under  the  pretence  of  urgent  business 
and  matters  of  private  concern,  had  gone  into  the  city 
and  given  valuable  information  to  the  British  general. 
The  fact  that  Putnam  had  exchanged  newspapers  with 
some  of  the  King's  officers,  who  had  been  his  comrades 
in  the  earlier  war,  was  even  complained  of.  There 
were  persons  who  were  ready  to  distort  into  an  accusa- 
tion against  him  so  harmless  a  thing  as  his  facetious 
note  to  his  old  friend  General  Robertson,  when  he  sent 
him  a  packet  of  papers  on  one  occasion  : 

"  Major  General  Putnam  presents  his  compliments  to  Major 
General  Robertson,  and  sends  him  some  American  Newspapers 
for  his  perusal — when  General  Robertson  shall  have  done  with 
them,  it  is  requested  they  be  given  to  Rivington  [James  Riving- 
ton,  the  Tory  publisher  of  the  New  York  Loyal  Gazette]  in 
order  that  he  may  print  some  truth." 


i778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  369 

The  prejudice  against  Putnam,  together  with  Wash- 
ington's own  misgivings  in  regard  to  the  General,  made 
a  change  in  the  chief  command  of  the  Highlands  ad- 
visable, and  yet  it  was  not  easy  to  get  a  competent 
officer  for  the  place.  Congress,  in  November,  had  con- 
nected that  post  with  the  Northern  Department,  but 
Gates,  who  had  been  invested  with  ample  authority  to 
carry  on  the  works,  would  not  take  charge  of  the 
Highlands.  He  claimed  to  have  more  important  duties 
at  Albany,  but  he  was  really  conspiring,  as  President 
of  the  Board  of  War,  to  supersede  Washington  as  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  American  army.  General 
George  Clinton,  whom  Hamilton  wished  to  have  ap- 
pointed to  the  Highlands,  could  not  be  spared  from  the 
head  of  the  provincial  government  of  New  York.  So 
Putnam  was  kept  awhile  longer  in  chief  command  of 
the  Highlands,  and  Washington  trusted  that  the  strong 
words  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  rebuilding  the  de- 
fences of  the  Hudson  would  have  the  desired  effect. 
Before  leaving  the  region  of  I,ong  Island  Sound,  Put- 
nam wrote  to  Washington  for  permission  to  visit  Con- 
necticut. 

"  Since  I  had  the  Misfortune  to  Lose  Mrs.  Putnam,"  were  his 
words  from  Saw  Pits,  dated  December  16th,  to  the  Commander- 
in-chief,  who  was  now  with  the  main  army  in  winter  quarters 
at  Valley  Forge,  "  the  Circumstances  of  My  Family  are  Such  as 
Makes  it  absolutely  Necessary — that  I  Might  have  a  Little  time 
to  go  home  to  Settle  My  Affairs,  if  you  think  it  not  inconsistent 
with  the  Service,  I  shall  be  glad  of  your  Approbation." 

Washington  did  not  deny  Putnam's  request,  but  he 
urged  upon  him  the  necessity  of  going  to  the  High- 
lands and  remaining  there  until  the  question  was  de- 
cided whether  or  not  the  forts  and  other  works  on  the 
Hudson,  which  had  been  demolished  by  the  British, 


37°  Israel  Putnam  [i777- 

should  be  restored  in  their  former  positions  or  new 
places  should  be  selected  for  that  purpose.  From  a  let- 
ter of  Putnam,  dated  January  13,  1778,  we  learn  that 
he,  in  company  with  Governor  George  Clinton,  Gen- 
eral James  Clinton,  and  several  others,  among  whom 
was  Radiere,  the  French  engineer,  examined  the 
grounds  ;  and  that  all  except  Radiere  agreed  that 
West  Point  was  the  most  eligible  place  to  be  fortified. 
It  furthermore  appears,  from  the  same  source,  that 
Radiere  objected  with  considerable  vehemence,  and 
drew  up  a  memorial  designed  to  show  that  the  site  of 
Fort  Clinton  possessed  advantages  much  superior  to 
West  Point.  As  the  engineer  was  a  man  of  science, 
and  had  the  confidence  of  Congress  and  Washington, 
Putnam  referred  the  matter  to  the  Council  and  As- 
sembly of  New  York  for  advice  before  he  made  a  final 
decision.  A  committee,  appointed  by  those  bodies, 
spent  three  days  examining  the  borders  of  the  Hudson 
in  the  Highlands,  and  they  unanimously  recommended 
West  Point,  agreeing  thus  with  every  person  author- 
ised to  act  in  the  affair  except  the  engineer.  Putnam, 
therefore,  selected  West  Point  as  the  place  to  be  forti- 
fied, and  ordered  Parsons's  brigade  to  break  ground 
there.  Engineer  Radiere,  however,  was  slow  in  laying 
out  works  which  he  did  not  approve.  This  fact,  to- 
gether with  extremely  cold  weather  and  the  privations 
and  sufferings  of  the  men,  and  the  want  of  teams  and 
other  necessary  aids,  caused  considerable  delay. 

Washington,  in  great  anxiety  over  the  slow  progress 
in  building  the  defences  in  the  Highlands,  wrote  to 
Putnam  concerning  the 

"  great  necessity  there  is  for  having  the  works  there  finished  as 
soon  as  possible."  "  I  most  earnestly  desire,"  he  added,  "  that 
the  strictest  attention  be  paid  to  every  matter,  which  may  con- 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  37l 

tribute  to  finishing  and  putting  them  in  a  respectable   state 
before  the  spring." 

In  reply,  Putnam  reported,  on  February  13th,  what 
had  been  accomplished  : 

"At  my  request  the  legislature  of  this  [New  York]  State 
have  appointed  a  committee,  to  affix  the  places  and  manner  of 
securing  the  river,  and  to  afford  some  assistance  in  expediting 
the  work.  The  state  of  affairs  now  at  this  post,  you  will  please 
to  observe,  is  as  follows.  The  chain  and  necessary  anchors  are 
contracted  for,  to  be  completed  by  the  first  of  April  ;  and,  from 
the  intelligence  I  have  received,  there  is  reason  to  believe  they 
will  be  finished  by  that  time.  Parts  of  the  boom  intended  to 
have  been  used  at  Fort  Montgomery,  sufficient  for  this  place, 
are  remaining.  Some  of  the  iron  is  exceedingly  bad  ;  this  I 
hope  to  have  replaced  with  good  iron  soon.  The  chevaux-de- 
frise  will  be  completed  by  the  time  the  river  will  admit  of 
sinking  them.  The  batteries  near  the  water,  and  the  fort  to 
cover  them,  are  laid  out.  The  latter  is  within  the  walls  six 
hundred  yards  around,  twenty-one  feet  base,  fourteen  feet  high, 
the  talus  two  inches  to  the  foot.  This  I  fear  is  too  large  to  be 
completed  by  the  time  expected.  Governor  Clinton  and  the 
committee  have  agreed  to  this  plan,  and  nothing  on  my  part 
shall  be  wanting  to  complete  it  in  the  best  and  most  expeditious 
manner.  Barracks  and  huts  for  about  three  hundred  men  are 
completed,  and  barracks  for  about  the  same  number  are  nearly 
covered.  A  road  to  the  river  has  been  made  with  great  diffi- 
culty." 

The  pitiable  condition  of  some  of  the  troops  under 
his  command  was  described  by  Putnam  in  the  same 
letter  to  Washington  : 

"Meigs's  regiment,  except  those  under  inoculation  with  the 
small-pox,  is  at  the  White  Plains  ;  and,  until  barracks  can  be 
fitted  up  for  their  reception,  I  have  thought  best  to  continue 
them  there,  to  cover  the  country  from  the  incursions  of  the 
enemy.  Dubois's  regiment  is  unfit  to  be  ordered  on  duty,  there 
being  not  one  blanket  in  the  regiment.  Very  few  have  either 
a  shoe  or  a  shirt,  and  most  of  them  have  neither  stockings, 


37 '2  Israel  Putnam  [1777- 

breeches,  nor  overalls.  Several  companies  of  enlisted  artificers 
are  in  the  same  situation,  and  unable  to  work  in  the  field. 
Several  hundred  men  are  rendered  useless,  merely  for  want  of 
necessary  apparel,  as  no  clothing  is  permitted  to  be  stopped 
at  this  post.  General  Parsons  has  returned  to  camp  some  time 
since,  and  takes  upon  himself  the  command  to-morrow  [Febru- 
ary 14]  when  I  shall  set  out  for  Connecticut." 

So  strongly  had  the  current  of  public  opinion  been 
running  against  Putnam  that  many  of  the  leading  New 
York  patriots  hoped  that  he  would  resign  or  be  re- 
moved from  his  position  as  chief  commander  in  the 
Highlands.*  This  feeling  was  expressed  in  a  letter  to 
Washington  from  Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of 
New  York,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  committee  of 
five  which  drafted  the  Declaration  of  Independence  : 

"  Your  Excellency  is  not  ignorant  of  the  extent  of  General 
Putnam's  capacity  and  diligence  ;  and  how  well  so  ever  these 
may  qualify  him  for  this  most  important  command,  the  preju- 
dices to  which  his  imprudent  lenity  to  the  disaffected,  and  too 
great  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  have  given  rise,  have  greatly 
injured  his  influence.  How  far  the  loss  of  Fort  Montgomery 
and  the  subsequent  ravages  of  the  enemy  are  to  be  attributed 
to  him,  I  will  not  venture  to  say  ;  as  this  will  necessarily  be 
determined  by  a  court  of  inquiry,  whose  determinations  I 
would  not  anticipate.  Unfortunately  for  him,  the  current  of 
popular  opinion  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  States,  and  as  far 
as  I  can  learn  in  the  troops  under  his  command,  runs  strongly 
against  him.  For  my  own  part,  I  respect  his  bravery  and 
former  services,  and  sincerely  lament  that  his  patriotism  will 
not  suffer  him  to  take  that  repose,  to  which  his  advanced  age 
and  past  services  justly  entitle  him." 

Washington  replied  to  Chancellor  Livingston  thus, 

on  March  12,  1778,  from  headquarters,  Valley  Forge  : 

"I  should  have  answered  your  favr.  of  the  14th  January 


*  Thomas  Egleston,  Life  of  Major-General  John  Paterson, 


i778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  373 

before  this  time,  had  I  not  have  been  daily  in  hopes  that  I 
should  have  been  able  to  have  given  you  a  satisfactory  ac- 
count of  a  change  of  men  and  measures  in  the  North  River 
Department.  It  has  not  been  an  easy  matter  to  find  a  just  pre- 
tence for  removing  an  officer  from  his  Command  where  his 
misconduct  rather  appears  to  result  from  want  of  Capacity  than 
from  any  real  intention  of  doing  wrong,  and  it  is  therefore  as 
you  observe  to  be  lamented  that  he  cannot  see  his  own  defects 
and  make  an  honorable  retreat  from  a  Station  in  which  he 
only  exposes  his  own  weakness.  Proper  measures  are  taking 
to  carry  on  the  enquiry  into  the  loss  of  Fort  Montgomery 
agreeable  to  the  direction  of  Congress,  and  it  is  more  than 
probable,  from  what  I  have  heard,  that  the  issue  of  that  en- 
quiry will  afford  just  grounds  for  a  removal  of  Genl.  P[utnam] 
but  whether  it  does  or  not,  the  prejudices  of  all  ranks  in  that 
quarter  against  him  are  so  great,  that  he  must  at  all  events  be 
prevented  from  returning.  I  hope  to  introduce  a  gentleman 
in  his  place,  if  the  general  course  of  service  will  admit  of  it, 
who  will  be  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  State  and  to  the  public. 
In  the  meantime  I  trust  that  Genl.  Parsons  will  do  every  thing 
in  his  power  to  carry  on  the  works  which  from  his  last  ac- 
counts are  in  more  forwardness  than  I  expected.     .     .     ." 

The  new  commander  for  the  Highlands  whom  Wash- 
ington had  in  mind  was  Major-General  Alexander  Mc- 
Dougall.  This  officer  was  appointed  to  that  post  in 
March,  and  was  ordered  to  repair  thither  at  once.  He 
was  accompanied  from  Albany  to  West  Point  by 
Colonel  Rufus  Putnam,  who  was  to  assist  Kosciusko, 
the  engineer  recently  appointed  by  Congress  to  take 
the  place  of  Radiere.  The  work  of  fortifying  was 
now  pushed  forward  with  great  vigour.  The  principal 
fort  was  named  by  General  McDougall,  Fort  Putnam, 
after  Colonel  Rufus  Putnam,  whose  own  regiment  had 
been  employed  in  building  it.* 


*  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  in  an  address  delivered  on  September 
17,    1898,  at  Rutland,  Mass.,  at  the  dedication  of  a  tablet  to 


374  Israel  Putnam  [1777- 

Meanwhile,  Washington  arranged  for  the  Court  of 
Inquiry  which  he  mentioned  in  his  letter  to  Chancellor 
Livingston,  and  which  had  been  ordered  by  Congress. 

"  I  should  have  proceeded  immediately  upon  the  business  of 
inquiry,"  wrote  the  Commander-in-chief  to  General  McDougall 
in  March,  1778,  "had  not  General  Putnam's  private  affairs  re- 
quired his  absence  for  some  little  time.  I  have  appointed 
Brigadier-General  Huntington  and  Colonel  Wigglesworth  to 
assist  you  in  this  matter ;  and,  enclosed,  you  will  find  instruc- 
tions empowering  you,  in  conjunction  with  them,  to  carry  on 
the  inquiry  agreeable  to  the  resolve  of  Congress.  You  will 
observe  by  the  words  of  the  resolve,  that  the  inquiry  is  to  be 
made  into  the  loss  of  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  into  the  conduct  of  the  principal  officers 
commanding  those  forts. 

"  Hence  the  officer  commanding  in  chief  in  that  department 
will  be  consequentially  involved  in  the  inquiry  ;  because  if  he 
has  been  deficient  in  affording  the  proper  support  to  those 
posts,  when  called  upon  to  doit,  the  commandant  and  principal 
officers  will  of  course  make  it  appear  by  the  evidence  produced 
in  their  own  justification.  I  am  not  certain  whether  General 
Putnam  has  yet  returned  to  Fishkill ;  and  I  have  therefore  by 
the  enclosed,  which  you  will  please  forward  to  him  by  express, 
given  him  notice  that  the  inquiry  is  to  be  held,  and  have  de- 
sired him  to  repair  immediately  to  that  post." 

General  Rufus  Putnam,  by  the  Massachusetts  Society,  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution,  said  : 

"To  the  genius  of  Rufus  Putnam  was  due  the  favourable  re- 
sult at  three  great  turning-points  in  American  history.  It  was 
his  skill  as  an  engineer  that  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Bos- 
ton. It  was  his  skill  as  an  engineer  that  fortified  West  Point. 
To  him  was  due  the  settlement  of  the  Ohio  Territory  and  the 
adoption  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  which  dedicated  the  North- 
west forever  to  freedom,  education  and  religion,  and,  in  the 
end,  saved  the  United  States  from  becoming  a  great  slavehold- 
ing  empire." 

For  the  naming  of  Fort  Putnam,  see  Boynton's  History  of 
West  Point. 


FORT  PUTNAM,  WEST  POINT. 


1778]  The  Hudson  Highlands  375 

Putnam  was  already  on  his  return  journey  to  the 
Highlands,  when  the  message  from  Washington  for 
him  was  forwarded  to  Connecticut.  On  his  arrival  at 
Fishkill  he  learned  for  the  first  time  that  he  had  been 
superseded  in  the  command  by  General  McDougall, 
and  that  the  officers  had  been  selected  to  constitute 
the  Court  of  Inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  loss  of  Forts 
Montgomery  and  Clinton.  The  investigations  of 
McDougall,  Huntington,  and  Wigglesworth  were 
made  in  April,  and,  although  Putnam  did  not  have  time 
to  obtain  all  the  ''evidences  and  papers"  that  he 
wished  to  lay  before  them,  the  report  which  they  made 
was  very  satisfactory  to  him,  for  it  exonerated  him 
from  all  blame  in  the  Hudson  disaster.  The  decision, 
approved  by  the  Continental  Congress,  was  that  the 
forts  were  lost  "  not  from  any  fault,  misconduct,  or 
negligence  of  the  commanding  officers,  but  solely 
through  the  want  of  adequate  force  under  their  com- 
mand to  maintain  and  defend  them."  * 

The  verdict,  favourable  to  Putnam,  was  commented 
upon  with  much  interest  by  some  of  the  British  officers 
when  they  heard  of  it. 

"We  hear,"  wrote  one  of  them  at  Philadelphia  "that  Mr. 
Putnam  was  lately  tried  before  a  court-martial  and  honourably 
acquitted  of  all  charges  brought  against  him.  The  principal 
one  was  leniency  towards  prisoners— a  sentiment  he  seems  to 
have  imbibed  years  ago  when  he  had  the  honour  to  serve  his 
Majesty  for  several  years  in  the  late  [French  and  Indian] 
War."  f 

As  soon  as  the  Court  of  Inquiry  finished  its  investi- 


*  Journals  of  Congress,  1778. 

\  Letters  of  Brunswick  and  Hessian  Officers.    Transl.  by  W. 
Iv.  Stone. 


376 


Israel  Putnam 


[1778] 


gations,  Putnam,  in  accordance  with  Washington's 
wish,  returned  with  all  possible  expedition  to  Connec- 
ticut to  superintend  the  forwarding  of  recruits  for  the 
coming  campaign. 


m 

ii 

1^1 

ma 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN  THE  RECRUITING  SERVICE 

1778-1779 

HEN  Putnam  reached  Connecticut  in 
April,  1778,  he  went  at  once  to  Leba- 
non and  was  furnished  by  Governor 
Trumbull  with  such  orders  and  assist- 
ance as  he  needed  for  the  recruiting 
service.  The  response  of  the  people  to 
Putnam's  appeal  for  new  levies  was  not,  at  first,  what 
it  should  have  been.  A  general  feeling  of  over-confi- 
dence prevailed,  for  the  "great  good  news"  of  the 
French  alliance  had  recently  arrived  from  across  the 
ocean,  and  it  seemed  as  if,  with  this  powerful  aid 
pledged  to  sustain  American  independence,  the  British 
might  be  easily  conquered.  "  I  hope,"  said  Washing- 
ton in  a  letter  to  Putnam,  "  that  the  fair,  and,  I  may 
say  certai?iy  prospects  of  success  will  not  induce  us  to 
relax."  The  Connecticut  General  used  every  effort  to 
arouse  his  fellow-colonists  to  the  importance  of  prepar- 
ing vigorously  for  the  new  campaign,  and  soon  he 
was  able  to  report  to  the  Commander-in-chief  that  the 
people  were  coming  to  a  realisation  of  the  needs  of  the 
hour. 

Towards  the  last  of  May,  Putnam  had  made  so  much 
377 


378  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

progress  in  raising  and  forwarding  the  needed  force 
from  Connecticut  that  he  was  ready  for  service  else- 
where. Washington  was  in  a  quandary  how  to  employ 
him,  and  expressed  himself  thus  to  Gouverneur  Morris 
of  the  Continental  Congress  : 

"  What  am  I  to  do  with  Putnam?  If  Congress  mean  to  lay 
him  aside  dece?itly,  I  wish  they  would  devise  the  mode. — He 
wanted  some  time  ago  to  visit  his  family  ;  I  gave  him  leave,  & 
requested  him  to  superintend  the  forwarding  of  the  Connecticut 
recruits. — This  service  he  says  is  at  an  end,  &  is  now  applying 
for  orders. — If  he  comes  to  this  army  he  must  be  in  high  com- 
mand (being  next  in  rank  to  Lee)— if  he  goes  to  the  North 
River  he  must  command  Gates,  or  serve  under  a  junior  officer — 
The  sooner  these  embarrassments  could  be  removed  the  better. 
If  they  are  not  to  be  removed,  I  wish  to  know  it,  that  I  may 
govern  myself  accordingly  ;  indecision  &  suspense  in  the  mili- 
tary line,  are  hurtful  in  the  extreme." 

Gates  had  succeeded  McDougall  in  the  command  of 
the  Hudson  Highlands  ;  and  I^ee,  who  had  recently 
been  exchanged,  had  returned  to  his  old  place  as 
Senior  Major-General  in  the  Continental  army.  After 
Washington  wrote  the  letter  in  which  he  mentioned 
both  these  Generals  in  connection  with  Putnam,  sev- 
eral weeks  passed  away  before  Congress  did  anything 
to  solve  the  problem  concerning  the  Connecticut 
veteran.  Several  important  events  which  occurred  in 
the  early  summer  had  a  bearing  upon  the  military  duty 
which  was  at  length  assigned  to  Putnam.  The  British 
troops,  under  the  chief  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
the  successor  of  General  William  Howe,  became  so 
alarmed  by  the  approach  of  a  powerful  French  fleet 
that  they  evacuated  Philadelphia  on  June  18th.  In 
the  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  Washington  fought  a  battle, 
June  28th,  at  Monmouth.     The  British   were  driven 


i779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         379 

from  the  field,  but  the  force  of  the  blow  aimed  at  them 
was  broken  by  the  misconduct  of  Lee.  For  his  dis- 
obedience of  orders  and  his  unnecessary  and  shameful 
retreat,  Lee  was  put  under  arrest  to  be  tried  by  court- 
martial.  Putnam  was  now  summoned  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  troops  in  need  of  an  officer  of  high  rank. 
Congress  had  at  last  accepted  the  report  of  the  Court  of 
Inquiry  and  restored  him  to  his  old  standing  in  the 
army.  Before  this  final  decision  was  reached,  the 
General  had  sent  by  the  hand  of  his  son,  Israel,  a  most 
urgent  letter  to  Congress.  It  was  dictated  at  Hart- 
ford in  June. 

"  I  have  waited  with  the  utmost  impatience  for  orders,"  he 
said,  "  but  none  having  arrived  ...  I  think  there  must  be 
some  mistake  ...  I  must  beg  that  the  Hon'ble  Congress 
will  take  this  matter  into  their  consideration,  and  grant  that  I 
may  be  acquitted  and  that  with  Honor  or  tried  by  a  Genl. 
Court  Martial  ...  so  that  My  Character  Might  stand  in  a 
clearer  light  in  the  World  ;  but  to  be  posted  here  as  a  publick 
spectator  for  every  ill  Minded  person  to  make  their  remarks 
upon,  I  think  is  very  poor  encouragement  for  any  person  to 
venture  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  Service." 

On  receiving  the  welcome  order  to  rejoin  the  main 
army,  Putnam  left  Connecticut  immediately  for  White 
Plains,  to  which  place  Washington,  with  the  Connecti- 
cut regiments,  had  moved  from  Monmouth.  The 
American  force  near  Chatterton  Hill  and  the  old  bat- 
tle-ground of  1776  presented  a  powerful  front,  this  be- 
ing the  largest  number  of  troops  brought  together  in  a 
single  encampment  during  the  war.  Putnam,  on  his 
arrival,  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Virginia 
11  Line,"  consisting  of  the  brigades  of  Woodford, 
Muhlenberg,  and  Scott  ;  and  he  soon  received  orders 
to  cross  the  Hudson,  with  his  wing  of  the  army,  for  the 


380  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

security  of  West  Point.  Dr.  James  Thacher,  the 
American  surgeon  at  the  Beverly  Robinson  House> 
which  had  been  converted  into  a  hospital,  met  Putnam 
in  the  Highlands  and  noted  down  in  his  Military 
Journal,  under  date  of  September  8th,  his  impressions 
of  the  General  : 

"Major-General  Putnam  has  arrived  in  this  vicinity,  with 
the  division  of  the  Virginia  and  Maryland  troops  under  his 
command,  and  they  have  encamped  on  the  borders  of  the 
river.  Brigadiers  Woodford  and  Muhlenberg  have  taken  up 
quarters  in  apartments  in  our  hospital.  This  is  my  first  inter- 
view with  this  celebrated  hero  [Putnam].  In  his  person  he  is 
corpulent  and  clumsy,  but  carries  a  bold,  undaunted  front.  He 
exhibits  little  of  the  refinements  of  the  well-educated  gentle- 
man, but  much  of  the  character  of  the  veteran  soldier.  He 
appears  to  be  advanced  to  the  age  of  about  sixty  years,  and  it  is 
famed  of  him  that  he  has,  in  many  instances,  proved  himself  as 
brave  as  Caesar.  He  visited  our  hospital,  and  inquired  with 
much  solicitude  into  the  condition  of  our  patients  ;  observing 
a  considerable  number  of  men  who  were  infected  with  the 
ground  itch,  generated  by  lying  on  the  ground,  he  inquired 
why  they  were  not  cured.  I  answered,  '  because  we  have  no 
hog's  lard  to  make  ointment'  '  Did  you  never,'  said  the  Gen- 
eral, 'cure  the  itch  with  tar  and  brimstone?'  'No,  Sir.' 
'Then,'  replied  he  good  humoredly,  'you  are  not  fit  for  a 
doctor.'  " 

The  arrangement,  whereby  Putnam  was  again  in  the 
Highlands  to  watch  the  defences  of  the  Hudson,  was 
only  a  temporary  one,  for  Washington  knew  that  it 
would  not  be  wise  to  keep  tlje  General,  who  had  been 
severely  criticised  in  the  preceding  campaign,  long  in 
the  chief  command  there.  "  This  State  [New  York]  I 
am  authorised  to  say,"  wrote  Washington  to  Gates  in 
September, ' 'dislike  General  Putnam,  and  not  reposing 
confidence  in  him,  they  will  be  uneasy  if  he  should  be 


1-/79]        In  the  Recruiting  Service         381 

left  to  command."  At  the  time  that  these  words  were 
penned,  the  main  Continental  Army  had  marched  from 
White  Plains  and  was  stationed  in  four  divisions  at 
different  places.  The  brigades  of  Putnam,  near  West 
Point,  constituted  the  first  division  ;  Baron  de  Kalb 
was  in  command  of  the  second  division  at  Fishkill 
Plains  ;  a  third  division  was  with  Lord  Stirling  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fredericksburg  ;  and  the  fourth  division, 
composed  of  the  whole  left  wing  of  the  army,  was  under 
Gates  at  Danbury. 

"These  several  posts  appear  to  be  the  best  we  can  occupy  in 
the  present  doubtful  state  of  things,"  said  Washington  in  a 
letter  from  his  headquarters  at  Fredericksburg  to  Congress,  "  as 
they  have  relation  to  the  support  of  West  Point,  in  case  of  an 
attack  in  that  quarter,  and  are  also  on  the  communication  to. 
the  eastward  if  the  enemy  point  their  operations  that  way. 
Besides  these  dispositions,  Gen'l  Scott,  with  a  light  corps,  re- 
mains below  in  the  County  about  King's  Street." 

It  became  evident  before  long  that  the  main  object 
of  the  British  for  the  remainder  of  the  campaign  of 
1778,  was  to  strengthen  their  possession  of  New  York. 
Putnam  was  alert  to  repel  any  sally  of  the  enemy  from 
the  city.  He  was  successful  in  driving  back  several 
detachments  which  were  sent  out  against  him  at  differ- 
ent times.  One  of  the  hostile  incursions  he  reported 
to  Washington  in  a  letter  written  by  his  own  hand.  It 
is  full  of  curiously  misspelled  words  : 

"  Pickskii,i,,  ye  24  Sep*.  1778. 
"  Dear  GiNROiv,— Larst  night  I  received  a  Leator  [letter]  from 
Collo  Spencor  informing  me  that  the  Enimy  had  Landed  at  the 
English  Naborwhod  [neighbourhood]  and  ware  on  thar  March 
to  hackensack.  I  immedat  called  the  ginrol  ofesors  togather 
to  consult  what  was  beast  to  be  don  it  was  concluded  to  Exam- 
min  the  mens  gons  and  Cartridges  &  &  and  to  have  them  ready 


382  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

for  a  March  at  the  shortest  notis  when  it  shuld  be  thought  beast 
or  on  receaving  your  Orders.  I  waited  som  tim  for  further  In- 
telleganc  but  hearing  non  I  rod  down  to  Kings  far}-  and  on  my 
way  met  4  men  with  thar  horses  loded  with  bagig  going  back 
into  the  contry  which  said  thay  cam  from  within  2  milds  [miles] 
of  tarytown  who  said  the  Enimy  had  com  out  of  New  York  in 
3  larg  Colloms  won  [one]  by  the  way  of  Maranack  and  won  by 
taritown  and  won  had  gon  into  the  jarsys  [Jerseys]  Just  as  I 
had  got  to  the  farry  I  meat  won  Cap*  Jonston  with  a  leator  from 
Collo  hay  [Col.  Hay]  which  informed  me  that  the  Enemy  had 
got  as  fur  as  Sovalingboro  church  and  was  incamped  thare  and 
it  was  said  thay  war  [were]  waiteng  for  a  wind  to  bring  up  the 
ships  :  the  Enimy  are  colecting  all  the  catel  sheap  and  hogs 
thay  can  in  this  setuation  shuld  be  glad  of  your  Excelauceys 
ordors  what  to  do  "lam  Sir  with  the  gratest  Estem 

"your  humbel  Sarveant 

"Israel  Putnam." 

When  the  cold  weather  of  late  autumn  began,  the 
British  settled  into  comfortable  quarters  in  New  York, 
and  the  Americans  in  the  Highlands  feeling  less  dan- 
ger of  being  attacked,  indulged  in  occasional  festivities. 
Surgeon  Thacher  tells  of  "  an  entertainment,  by  invi- 
tation of  Brigadier-General  Muhlenberg,  who  occupies 
a  room  in  our  hospital  [Robinson  House]." 

"The  guests  consisted  of  forty-one  respectable  officers,  and 
our  tables  were  furnished  with  fourteen  different  dishes,  ar- 
ranged in  fashionable  style.  After  dinner,  Major-General  Put- 
nam was  requested  to  preside,  and  displayed  no  less  urbanity 
at  the  head  of  the  table  than  bravery  at  the  head  of  his  division. 
A  number  of  toasts  were  pronounced,  accompanied  with  hu- 
mourous and  merry  songs.  In  the  evening  we  were  cheered  with 
military  music  and  dancing,  which  continued  till  a  late  hour  in 
the  night." 

Towards  the  last  of  November,  Washington  com- 
pleted  arrangements  for  the   disposition  of  the  Con- 


i779]        In  the  Recruiting  Service         383 

tinental  Army  for  the  winter.  Most  of  the  brigades 
were  to  be  in  the  Highlands.  Three  brigades,  corn- 
posed  of  the  New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut  troops 
and  Hazen's  regiment  were  to  be  posted  in  the  vicinity 
of  Danbury,  Connecticut,  "  for  the  protection  of  the 
country  lying  along  the  Sound,  to  cover  our  magazines 
lying  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and  to  aid  the  High- 
lands on  any  serious  movement  of  the  enemy  that  way." 
Putnam  was  to  command  at  Danbury,  McDougall  in 
the  Highlands,  and  Washington's  own  headquarters 
were  to  be  at  Middlebrook  in  New  Jersey.  Soon  after 
the  announcement  that  he  was  transferred  to  the  East- 
ern Division,  Putnam  set  out  for  Connecticut  to  take 
command  of  the  troops  over  whom  he  had  been 
appointed.  Meanwhile  McDougall  returned  to  the 
Highlands,  to  be  again  in  chief  charge  of  the  Hudson 
defences. 

A  three-days'  journey  brought  Putnam,  about  De- 
cember ist,  to  the  winter  camps  in  the  sheltered  valley, 
formed  by  the  Saugatuck  and  its  tributaries,  which  lie 
along  the  border  line  of  what  was  then  Danbury  (now 
Bethel)  and  Redding.  He  established  his  headquarters 
in  a  farmhouse  on  Umpawaug  Hill.  Besides  his  sons 
Israel  and  Daniel,  the  General  had  in  his  "  military 
family"  the  new  aide-de-camp,  appointed  December 
18,  1778.  This  was  David  Humphreys,  who  had  been 
Brigade-Major  in  Parsons's  Brigade  and  who,  after 
serving  on  Putnam's  staff,  became  aide  successively  to 
Greene  and  Washington,  a  military  career  which,  when 
the  war  was  ended,  this  young  officer  (born  1753,  in 
Derby,  Connecticut)  recited  in  verse,  thus  : 


With  what  high  Chiefs  I  play'd  my  early  part, 
With  Parsons  first,  whose  eye,  with  piercing  ken, 


3^4  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

Reads  through  the  hearts  the  characters  of  men  ; 
Then  how  I  aided,  in  the  foil' wing  scene, 
Death-daring  Putnam — then  immortal  Greene — 
Then  how  great  Washington  my  youth  approv'd, 
In  rank  preferred,  and  as  a  parent  lov'd." 

Another  writer  of  patriotic  and.  martial  lines  was 
a  visitor  at  Putnam's  headquarters  —  Joel  Barlow,  a 
native  of  Redding  and  graduate  of  Yale  College,  who, 
in  his  Columbiady  mentions  among  American  heroes, 

11  Putnam,  scored  with  ancient  scars, 
The  living  records  of  his  country's  wars." 

The  same  versifier  of  Revolutionary  time  com- 
memorated the  General's  brave  efforts  to  rally  the  men 
at  Bunker  Hill,  in  this  stirring  stanza  : 

"  There  strides  bold  Putnam,  and  from  all  the  plains 
Calls  the  third  host,  the  tardy  rear  sustains, 
And,  'mid  the  whizzing  deaths  that  fill  the  air, 
Waves  back  his  sword,  and  dares  the  foll'wing  war." 

The  comparative  leisure  of  camp  life  at  Redding  gave 
some  of  the  soldiers  abundant  opportunities  to  brood 
over  their  privations,  and  they  succeeded  in  spreading 
discontent  until  a  large  number  were  ready  to  revolt, 
claiming  that  they  had  been  suffering  from  want  of 
clothes  and  blankets,  that  their  pay  was  nothing,  and 
that  all  engagements  with  them  should  be  made  good. 
On  December  30th,  the  men  of  Huntington's  brigade 
assembled  under  arms,  determined  to  march  to  Hartford 
and  demand  of  the  Legislature  redress  of  grievances. 
Putnam's  tactful  course  in  dealing  with  the  mutinous 
men — how  he  addressed  them  kindly  and  firmly  and 
caused  them  to  disperse  quietly  to  their  tents — is  related 
by  Humphreys,  who  was  on  the  scene  : 


i779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         385 

"  Word  having  been  brought  to  General  Putnam  that  the 
second  brigade  was  under  arms,  he  mounted  his  horse,  galloped 
to  the  cantonment,  and  thus  addressed  them  :  '  My  brave  lads, 
whither  are  you  going  ?  Do  you  intend  to  desert  your  officers, 
and  to  invite  the  enemy  to  follow  you  into  the  country  ?  Whose 
cause  have  you  been  fighting  and  suffering  so  long  in — is  it  not 
your  own  ?  Have  you  no  property,  no  parents,  wives,  or  chil- 
dren ?  You  have  behaved  like  men  so  far— all  the  world  is  full 
of  your  praises — and  posterity  will  stand  astonished  at  your 
deeds,  but  not  if  you  spoil  all  at  last.  Don't  you  consider  how 
much  the  country  is  distressed  by  the  war,  and  that  your  officers 
have  not  been  any  better  paid  than  yourselves  ?  But  we  all 
expect  better  times,  and  that  the  country  will  do  us  ample  jus- 
tice. Let  us  all  stand  by  one  another,  then,  and  fight  it  out 
like  brave  soldiers.  Think  what  a  shame  it  would  be  for  Con- 
necticut men  to  run  away  from  their  officers.' 

"After  the  several  regiments  had  received  the  General  as  he 
rode  along  the  line,  with  drums  beating  and  presented  arms, 
the  sergeants,  who  had  then  the  command,  brought  the  men  to 
an  order,  in  which  position  they  continued  while  he  was  speak- 
ing. When  he  had  done,  he  directed  the  acting  Major  of  Bri- 
gade to  give  the  word  for  them  to  shoulder,  march  to  their 
regimental  parades,  and  lodge  arms  ;  all  which  they  executed 
with  promptitude  and  apparent  good  humour.  One  soldier  only, 
who  had  been  the  most  active,  was  confined  in  the  quarter- 
guard  ;  from  whence,  at  night,  he  attempted  to  make  his  escape. 
But  the  sentinel,  who  had  also  been  in  the  mutiny,  shot  him 
dead  on  the  spot,  and  thus  the  affair  subsided." 

When  Washington  heard  of  the  mutiny,  he  wrote  to 
Putnam,  commending  him  for  his  success  in  quelling  it.* 

Although  the  troops  as  a  whole  remained  quiet  during 
the  winter,  several  soldiers  deserted,  in  order  to  become 
spies  for  the  enemy.  Such  men  were  summarily  dealt 
with,  when  they  were  caught.  Edward  Jones  and  John 
Smith  were  put  to  death  on  the  same  day.     There  are 

*  Official  documents  relating  to  the  mutiny  are  among  the 
Trumbull  MSS. 


3^6  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

different  versions  of  the  execution,  which  took  place  on 
11  Gallows  Hill,"  near  the  Redding  camp.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  much  inhumanity  was  shown  toward  the 
condemned  deserters,  but,  according  to  several  contem- 
poraneous accounts,  the  two  men  were  not  brutally 
treated.  Probably  the  most  correct  description  of  the 
execution  is  by  James  Olmstead,  who  had  a  good 
opportunity  of  learning  the  truth  from  his  father,  an 
eye-witness  : 

"  My  father,  being  an  officer  himself  and  well  known  to  some 
of  the  officers  on  duty,  was  one  of  the  few  who  were  admitted 
within  the  enclosure  formed  by  the  troops  around  the  place  of 
execution,  and  able  to  witness  all  that  there  took  place.  After 
prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bartlett,  the  younger  prisoner,  Smith, 
was  first  brought  forward  to  his  doom.  After  he  had  been 
placed  in  position  and  his  death  warrant  read,  a  file  of  soldiers 
was  drawn  up  in  a  line  with  loaded  muskets  and  the  word  of 
command  given.  The  firing  was  simultaneous  and  he  fell  dead 
on  the  spot.  After  the  smoke  had  cleared  away  it  was  found 
that  his  outer  garment,  a  sort  of  frock  or  blouse,  had  been  set 
on  fire  by  the  discharge,  and  it  was  extinguished  by  a  sol- 
dier who  had  fired.  He  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  scaffold 
when  Jones,  pale  and  haggard,  was  next  brought  on,  his  death 
warrant  was  read  and  he  seemed  to  recognise  some  few  of  his 
old  friends,  but  said  very  little  except  to  bid  farewell  to  all,  and 
his  last  words  were,  '  God  knows  I  'm  not  guilty,'  and  he  was 
hurried  into  eternity. 

11  My  father  had  a  pretty  good  general  knowledge  of  General 
Putnam  and  his  eccentricities,  and  had  there  been  any  unneces- 
sary hardships  or  severity  used  in  the  treatment  of  the  pris- 
oners, he  most  certainly  must  have  seen  and  known  something 
of  it,  but  in  all  I  ever  heard  from  him  or  any  one  else,  no  allu- 
sion was  made  to  anything  of  the  kind,  and  in  view  of  all  the 
circumstances  I  think  it  may  be  safe  to  infer  that  no  such  thing 
occurred  on  that  occasion."  * 


*From  a  letter  originally  published  in  the  Danbury  (Conn.) 
News. 


i779]        In  the  Recruiting  Service        387 

Over  against  this  tragic  event  at  Redding  may  be 
placed  two  anecdotes  relating  to  Putnam. 

The  first,  which  "  presents  the  General  in  a  very 
amiable  light,"  is  narrated  by  an  old-time  minister, 
Rev.  Thomas  F.  Davies,  in  an  historical  sermon 
preached  in  1839  at  Green's  Farms,  Connecticut  : 

"A  poor  man  with  a  family  needing  support,  and  who  lived 
in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Ridgefield,  was  told  by  one  ac- 
quainted with  his  wants  that  if  he  would  visit  General  Putnam 
[at  Redding]  and  hold  a  conversation  with  him,  he  would  on  his 
return  and  on  proof  of  the  fact  give  him  a  bushel  of  wheat. 
The  temptation  in  that  time  of  scarcity  and  taxes  was  great, 
and  so  also  was  the  fear  of  intruding  upon  so  distinguished  an 
individual ;  but  the  stern  necessities  of  his  condition  at  length 
induced  the  poor  man  to  venture.  He  accordingly  presented 
himself  at  headquarters  and  requested  the  servant  to  solicit  for 
him  an  interview  with  the  General.  Putnam  promptly  sum- 
moned the  man  into  his  presence,  directed  him  to  be  seated, 
and  listened  with  interest  while  the  man  with  great  trepidation 
gave  the  statement  which  accounted  for  the  liberty  he  had 
taken.  The  General  directed  the  servant  to  bring  some  wine, 
conversed  for  a  time  very  pleasantly  with  his  needy  visitor,  and 
then,  calling  for  pen  and  ink,  wrote  a  certificate  in  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  the  individual,  and  stated  that  he  had  visited 
and  conversed  with  General  Putnam,  who  signed  it  in  his  official 
character.  Thus  furnished  with  the  means  of  giving  bread  to 
his  family,  the  distressed  individual  returned  to  his  humble 
roof;  and  this  anecdote,  which  I  have  on  the  very  best  author- 
ity, is  proof  that  Putnam  was  not  destitute  of  those  kind  and 
gentle  affections  which  are  so  desirable  an  ornament  of  the 
most  heroic  character." 


The  other  anecdote  is  told  by  Charles  B.  Todd,  in 
his  History  of  Redding.  Among  the  soldiers  in  camp 
was  Tom  Warrups,  an  Indian,  who  was  one  of  Put- 
nam's most  valued  scouts. 


388  Israel   Putnam 


[1778- 


"Tom  had  a  weakness  for  liquor,  which  would  have  caused 
his  expulsion  from  the  camp  had  it  not  been  for  his  services  as 
scout  and  guide.  One  day  he  was  seen  deplorably  drunk,  and 
the  officer  of  the  day  in  disgust  ordered  him  to  be  ridden  out 
of  the  camp.  A  stout  rail  was  brought,  Tom  was  placed  astride 
of  it,  four  men  hoisted  it  upon  their  shoulders,  and  the  caval- 
cade started.  On  their  way  they  met  General  Putnam  with  his 
aids  making  the  rounds  of  the  camp. 

"  '  Tom,'  said  the  General,  sternly,  '  how  's  this?  Aren't  you 
ashamed  to  be  seen  riding  out  of  camp  in  this  way  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,'  replied  Tom  with  drunken  gravity,  '  Tom  is  ashamed, 
vera  mooch  ashamed,  to  see  poor  Indian  ride  and  the  General 
he  go  afoot.'  " 


During  the  winter,  the  British  made  marauding  ex- 
peditions from  New  York  into  Connecticut,  and  Putnam 
found  it  necessary  to  send  out  detachments  from  the 
Redding  camp  to  watch  the  enemy.  In  the  latter 
part  of  February,  1779,  he  himself  was  at  Horseneck 
on  a  tour  of  supervision  of  the  outposts.  Here  occurred 
his  famous  ride.  It  appears,  from  the  British  con- 
temporary account  in  Rivington's  New  York  Gazette, 
March  3, 1779, that  at  eleven  o'clock  on  Thursday  night, 
February  25th,  Governor  Tryon  left  Kingsbridge  with 
a  force  of  about  fifteen  hundred  men,  consisting  of  the 
17th,  44th,  and  57th  British  regiments,  one  of  the  Hes- 
sians and  two  of  new  levies,  for  an  incursion  into  Con- 
necticut to  that  part  of  Greenwich  which  extended  into 
the  Sound  and  which  received  its  name  from  having 
been  used  for  a  pasture  for  horses.  He  intended  to 
surprise  the  American  outpost  there  and  destroy  the 
salt-works  in  the  vicinity,  which  supplied  an  urgent 
need  of  the  Continentals.  The  approach  of  the  hostile 
troops  was  discovered  by  Captain  Titus  Hosmer  and 
his  men,  who  were  on  picket  duty  at  some  distance 


i779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         389 

from  Horseneck.     We  have  Putnam's  own  account* 
of  their  brave  attempt  to  retard  the  British: 

"A  captain  and  thirty  men  were  sent  from  our  advanced 
lines  from  Horseneck  who  discovered  the  enemy  at  New 
Rochelle,  in  advance.  They  retired  before  them  undiscovered 
as  far  as  Rye  Neck,  where,  it  growing  light,  the  enemy  ob- 
served and  attacked  them.  They  defended  themselves  as  well 
as  possible  and  made  their  way  good  to  Sawpitts,  where  they 
took  advantage  of  a  commanding  piece  of  ground  and  made 
some  little  stand,  but  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy  obliged 
them  to  retire  over  Byram  bridge,  which  they  took  up,  and  by 
that  means  had  an  opportunity  of  reaching  Horseneck  in 
safety." 

Arriving  at  Horseneck  at  full  gallop,  Captain 
Hosmer  and  his  riders  had  just  time  to  alarm  the  camp 
when  Tryon  and  his  marauders  appeared  in  sight, 
about  nine  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  February  26th. 
Traditions  differ  as  to  just  where  Putnam  was  at  this 
hour.  According  to  one  account,  he  was  staying  with 
General  Kbenezer  Mead,  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  and  was  in  the  front  chamber,  shaving. 
Suddenly  he  saw  in  the  mirror,  before  which  he  was 
standing,  a  reflection  of  the  red-coats  advancing  from 
the  west.  Half-shaven  and  with  the  lather  still  on  his 
face,  he  grasped  his  sword,  rushed  out  of  the  house, 
mounted  his  horse  and  started  at  high  speed  for  the 
hill,  half  a  mile  distant,  to  rally  his  troops,  f     Another 


*  Connecticut  Historical  Collections,  by  J.  W.  Barber,  pp. 
381-382. 

f  This  hill,  on  which  the  Congregational  meeting-house 
stood,  was  not  the  one  down  which  Putnam  made  his  famous 
ride.  That  hill  was  near  the  Episcopal  Church.  Some  writers 
have  become  confused  by  not  making  this  distinction  in  de- 
scribing the  place  of  the  exploit. 


39°  Israel  Putnam  [t778- 

tradition  says  that  Putnam  was  at  the  house  of  Captain 
John  Hobby,  which  was  located  much  nearer  the  hill, 
and  that  when  the  enemy  approached,  walking  their 
horses,  they  saw  Putnam  with  his  coat  on  his  arm, 
spring  on  his  horse  and  gallop  towards  his  men.  The 
prevailing  current  of  authority  seems  to  indicate  that 
Putnam  was  at  the  tavern  kept  by  Israel  Knapp,  after- 
wards known  as  the  Tracy  place,  and  which  was  situated 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  brow  of  the  precipice  at 
Horseneck.  But  wherever  the  General  was  alarmed 
that  morning,  he  was  soon  with  his  men  on  the  hill 
where  the  Congregational  meeting-house  stood,  and 
made  rapid  preparations  to  resist  the  British.  It  is 
most  interesting  to  have  his  official  report,  dated  March 
2,  1779,  to  Governor  Trumbull,  giving  certain  details 
of  the  affair  : 


"As  I  was  there  myself,"  says  Putnam,  "  to  see  the  situation 
of  the  guards,  I  had  the  troops  formed  on  a  hill  by  the  [Con- 
gregational] meeting-house,  ready  to  receive  the  enemy  as  they 
advanced." 


The  Americans  numbered  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty — a  force  only  one-tenth  of  the  number  under 
Tryon.  Putnam  continues  by  describing  the  approach 
of  the  hostile  troops  : 

u  They  came  on  briskly,  and  I  soon  discovered  that  their 
design  was  to  turn  our  flanks  and  possess  themselves  of  a  defile 
in  our  rear,  which  would  effectually  prevent  our  retreat.  I 
therefore  ordered  parties  out  on  both  flanks,  with  directions  to 
give  me  information  of  their  approach,  that  we  might  retire  in 
season.  In  the  meantime  a  column  advanced  up  the  main 
road,  where  the  remainder  of  the  troops  (amounting  to  only 
about  sixty)  were  posted." 


1779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         391 

On  came  the  soldiers  of  King  George  ;  dragoons  and 
infantry  ready  to  charge.  In  the  van  were  some  of  the 
most  vindictive  foes, — Delancey's  corps  of  Tories. 

' '  We  discharged  some  old  field  pieces, "  says  Putnam,  "  which 
were  there,  a  few  times,  and  gave  them  a  small  fire  of  musketry, 
but  without  any  considerable  effect ;  the  superior  force  of  the 
enemy  soon  obliged  our  small  detachment  to  abandon  the 
place.  I  therefore  directed  the  troops  to  retire  and  form  on  a 
hill  a  little  distance  from  Horseneck,  while  I  proceeded  to 
Stamford  and  collected  a  body  of  militia  and  a  few  Continental 
troops  which  were  there,  with  which  I  returned  immediately." 

But  Putnam  omits  to  mention  what  happened  just 
after  he  had  ordered  his  men  to  retreat  a  short  distance 
across  a  swamp  to  a  place  inaccessible  to  horses,  while 
he  himself  went  for  reinforcements.  When  he  wheeled 
his  horse  into  the  main  road  towards  Stamford,  several 
British  dragoons  started  to  pursue  him.  He  saw  them 
coming.  Over  the  frozen  highway  sped  the  General. 
The  ring  of  steel-shod  hoofs  behind  him  told  him  how 
fast  the  enemy's  chargers  were  gaining  upon  him.  On- 
ward the  old  hero  spurred,  while  the  flying  horsemen 
lessened  the  distance  between  themselves  and  their 
prize.  A  fourth  of  a  mile  was  passed  in  the  mad  chase, 
and  then  the  road  curved  sharply  toward  the  north  and 
led  round  a  steep  declivity.  Out  from  the  highway  the 
intrepid  Putnam  leaped  his  steed  and  dashed  straight  on 
towards  the  precipice  and  forced  his  horse  over  the  brow 
and  down  the  rocky  height.  His  pursuers — one  of  them 
had  just  been  within  two  lengths  of  him  on  the  road — 
reined  in  their  horses  in  utter  astonishment  at  sight  of 
the  General's  reckless  feat,  and,  not  daring  to  follow 
him  down  the  dangerous  steep,  fired  their  revolvers  at 
him  as  he  went.     An  eye-witness  of  the  exploit  used 


392  Israel  Putnam  [i77s- 

to  tell  how  Putnam  waved  back  his  sword  with  taunt- 
ing words  to  the  baffled  British,  whose  balls  whizzed 
past  him.     One  of  the  bullets  pierced  his  military  cap. 

Traditions  differ  as  to  just  the  course  which  the  hero 
took  in  his  descent.  One  is  that  he  went  down  the 
entire  length  of  an  irregular  rocky  stair-way,  formed 
by  seventy  or  more  rough  stones,  so  arranged  as  to 
make  a  convenient  approach  from  the  plain  below  to 
the  Episcopal  Church,  which  stood  near  the  crest  of  the 
Horseneck  height.  The  other  version  says  that  Put- 
nam followed  a  cow-path  diagonally  across  the  hill  and 
when  he  reached  the  stone  steps  he  was  two-thirds  from 
the  top.  In  either  case,  he  reached  the  foot  at  the  spot 
which  is  pointed  out  to-day.  The  hill,  now  called 
Putnam's  or  Put's  Hill,  has  been  cut  through  since 
Revolutionary  days,  and  a  causeway  has  been  made  at 
its  base  across  the  plain  or  meadow.  When  Lafayette, 
with  whom  Putnam  probably  became  acquainted  at 
White  Plains  in  the  autumn  of  1778,  visited  the  United 
States  in  1824-25,  he  stopped  at  Greenwich  on  his  tour 
through  Connecticut.  He  was  met  by  a  large  gather- 
ing of  people,  who  accompanied  him  to  the  scene  of 
Putnam's  adventure,  where  an  arch  had  been  erected 
for  the  occasion.  Lafayette  left  his  carriage  and  wralked 
down  the  hill,  telling  the  members  of  the  reception 
committee  his  great  interest  in  the  characteristic  exploit 
of  the  General. 

The  centennial  commemoration  of  the  renowned  ride 
was  observed  with  appropriate  exercises  at  Greenwich 
in  February,  1879.  A  granite  boulder  monument, 
bearing  a  tablet  and  inscription,  was  placed  in  1900  on 
the  historic  hill  to  mark  the  locality  of  Putnam's  re- 
markable feat.  This  memorial  emphasises  with  vivid 
reality  that  although,  on  the  one  hand,  the  exploit  has 


i779]        In  the  Recruiting  Service         393 

been  disputed  by  some  writers  of  Revolutionary 
events,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  has  been  romantically 
exaggerated  in  story-books  and  in  numberless  quaint 
drawings,  paintings,  and  prints, — still  Putnam's  ride 
is  well  authenticated  and  can  continue  to  be  a  favour- 
ite tale  concerning  the  intrepid  hero.* 

On  that  eventful  day  in  Putnam's  career,  it  appears 
that,  in  a  farm-house  situated  about  half  a  mile  below 
the  hill,  a  mother,  busy  over  her  milk-pans,  heard  the 
rapid  beat  of  horse-hoofs  coming  down  the  road  which 
led  past  the  house.  She  rushed  to  the  door  to  look  for 
her  four  little  girls,  who  had  been  playing  outside  and 
who  might  be  in  danger  of  being  trampled  upon.  The 
hatless  General,  his  long  hair  blowing  about  his  round, 
kindly  face,  dashed  up  in  front  of  the  house  and  drew 
up  his  horse  so  suddenly  as  to  pull  him  back  on  his 
haunches.  "  For  God's  sake,  take  your  children  in," 
Putnam  called  to  the  mother.  "  The  British  are  upon 
us."  After  this  momentary  halt  —  an  act  of  thought- 
fulness,  like  that  of  a  personal  friend,  to  warn  the 
mother  to  find  a  hiding-place  for  her  family, —  the 
General  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  sped  on  towards 
Stamford.  When  Putnam  returned  to  Horseneck 
with  a  reinforcement,  which  he  obtained  at  Stamford, 
he  found  the  enemy  gone.  They  had  destroyed  the 
salt  works  as  well  as  a  sloop  and  store  at  Coscob,  and 
had  pillaged  many  of  the  houses  in  Greenwich. 

"  The  officer  commanding  the  Continental  troops  stationed  at 
Horseneck,"  writes  Putnam,  referring  to  Colonel  Holdridge, 

*  See  Historical  Address  by  Col.  H.  W.  R.  Hoyt,  delivered 
February  22,  1879,  at  Greenwich,  Conn.  ;  D.  M.  Mead's  His- 
tory of  Greenwich,  Conn.,  pp.  163-170  ;  B.  J.  Lossing's  Pictor- 
ial Field-Book  0/  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  i.,  pp.  411- 
413  ;  and  The  Outlook,  vol.  lxv.,  pp.  620-622, 


394  Israel  Putnam  [i778- 

wliom  he  had  ordered  to  retreat  a  short  distance  with  the  men 
that  morning,  while  he  himself  rode  to  Stamford  for  help, 
"mistook  my  orders  and  went  much  farther  than  I  intended, 
so  that  he  could  not  come  up  with  them  [the  British]  to  any 
advantage.  I,  however,  ordered  the  few  troops  that  came  from 
Stamford  to  pursue  them,  thinking  they  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  pick  up  some  stragglers.  In  this  I  was  not  mistaken, 
as  your  Excellency  [Governor  Trumbull]  will  see  by  the  list  of 
prisoners.  Besides  these,  eight  or  nine  more  were  taken  and 
sent  off,  so  that  I  cannot  tell  to  which  particular  regiments 
they  belonged  ;  one  ammunition  and  one  baggage  waggon  were 
taken.  In  the  former  there  were  about  two  hundred  rounds  of 
canister,  grape,  and  round  shot,  suited  to  three-pounders,  some 
slow  matches,  and  about  two  hundred  tubes  ;  the  latter  was 
filled  with  plunder,  which  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  restoring  to 
the  inhabitants  from  whom  it  was  taken.  As  I  have  not  yet 
got  a  return,  I  cannot  tell  exactly  the  number  we  lost,  though 
I  don't  think  more  than  ten  soldiers  and  about  that  number  of 
inhabitants,  but  a  few  of  which  were  in  arms. 

11  Iyist  of  prisoners  taken  at  Horseneck  the  26th  [February]  : 
17th  Regiment,  15  privates;  44th  do.,  5  privates;  57th  do.,  3 
privates;  Loyal  American  Regiment,  5  ;  Emmerick's  corps,  8; 
First  Battalion  of  Artillery,  1 ;  Pioneers,  1— Total  38.  N.B. 
Seven  deserters  from  Emmerick's  corps." 


In  appreciation  of  Putnam's  kind  treatment  of  the 
wounded  prisoners,  who  were  soon  afterwards  ex- 
changed, and  also  in  recognition  of  his  bravery  in 
making  the  perilous  descent  at  Horseneck,  Governor 
Tryon  is  said  to  have  sent  the  General  the  present  of 
a  new  suit  of  military  clothes,  including  a  chapeau  to 
replace  the  cap  which  was  pierced  by  the  British  bullet. 

During  March,  1779,  Putnam  continued  on  guard 
with  the  troops  in  Connecticut  and  was  more  or  less 
successful  in  thwarting  the  attempts  of  the  British  to 
commit  depredations  on  the  towns  along  the  coast  of 
Iyong  Island  Sound.     When  the  time  drew  near  for  the 


GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM'S  SADDLE. 


1779]        In  the  Recruiting  Service         395 

opening  of  the  new  campaign,  he  issued  orders  at  Red- 
ding camp  on  April  nth  to  his  officers  and  men  that 
they  "  lose  no  time  in  Preparing  for  the  field,  that  they 
may  be  ready  to  leave  their  present  Quarters  at  the 
Shortest  Notice."  A  few  days  later,  the  General  made 
a  trip  eastward.  He  appeared  before  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Connecticut,  and  urged  that  legislative  body 
to  furnish  additional  troops  for  the  brigades  under  his 
command.  On  his  return  to  Redding,  he  wrote  to 
Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  at  whose  house  at  Hart- 
ford he  had  recently  spent  a  night.  The  holograph 
letter  is  now  owned  by  the  Connecticut  Historical  So- 
ciety. To  attempt  to  read  this  original  production  is 
like  working  at  a  conundrum  : 

"  Reading  ye  u  of  May  1779 
"Dear  Sir, — on  my  arival  to  this  Plas  [place]  I  could  hear 
nothing  of  my  hard  mony  and  so  must  conclud  it  is  gon  to  the 
dogs  we  have  no  nus  [news]  hear  [here]  from  hoad-Quartors 
not  alin  [a  line]  senc  I  cam  hear  and  what  my  destination  is  to 
be  this  Summor  cant  even  so  much  as  Geuss  [guess]  but  shuld 
be  much  abliged  to  you  if  you  would  be  so  good  as  to  send  me 
by  the  teems  the  Lym  [lime]  juice  you  was  so  good  as  to  offor 
me  and  a  par  [pair]  of  shoos  [shoes]  I  left  undor  the  chambor 
tabel :  I  begin  to  think  the  nues  [news]  from  the  sutherd 
[southward]  is  tru  of  ginrol  Lintons  [General  Benjamin  Lin- 
coln] having  a  batel  [battle]  and  commiug  of[f]  [In]  the  leator 
it  is  said  he  killed  200  hundred  and  took  500  hundred  what 
maks  me  creudit  it  is  becaus  the  acounts  in  the  New  York 
papors  exactly  agree  with  ours.* 

*  It  is  uncertain  just  what  engagement  in  the  South,  Putnam 
refers  to  in  this  letter.  In  any  case  the  report  of  American 
success  proved  to  be  exaggerated,  for  although  General  Lincoln 
managed  to  keep  the  British  troops  below  the  Savannah  River 
for  a  time,  he  and  the  largest  part  of  his  army  were  made  pris- 
oners at  Charleston,  S.  C,  by  the  enemy's  force  under  Sir 
Henry  Clinton. 


396  Israel  Putnam  [l778- 

"  My  beast  Respeacts  to  your  Lady  and  sistors  and  L,etel 
soon  [little  son] 

"  I  am  dear  sir  with  the  greatest  respects 
"Your  most  obed  [ient]  and  humbel  Sarvant 
"  Israel  Putnam." 

Putnam,  who  was  so  desirous  to  know  where  he  was 
to  serve  in  the  campaign,  was,  a  few  days  later,  as- 
signed to  the  important  command  of  the  right  wing  of 
the  army,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  headquarters 
at  Smith's  Clove.  It  included  the  Virginia,  Maryland, 
and  Pennsylvania  divisions.  On  receiving  news  of  his 
appointment,  the  General  made  arrangements  to  go 
immediately  to  his  new  post.  Just  before  he  left  Red- 
ding, he  issued,  on  May  27th,  this  farewell  order  : 

"  Maj-General  Putnam  being  about  to  take  command  of  one 
of  the  Wings  of  the  Grand  Army,  before  he  leaves  the  Troops 
who  have  served  under  him  the  winter  past,  thinks  it  his  Duty 
to  Signify  to  them  his  entire  approbation  of  their  Regular  and 
Soldier  like  Conduct,  and  wishes  them  (wherever  they  may 
happen  to  be  out)  a  Successful  and  Glorious  Campaign."  * 

Soon  after  Putnam's  departure  from  Redding,  all  the 
Connecticut  troops  in  camp  there  were  marched  to  the 
Highlands,  by  way  of  Ridgefield,  Bedford,  and  Fish- 
kill,  to  serve  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson  in  the 
Continental  force  under  Major-General  Heath. 

The  site  of  the  camp  of  the  soldiers  whom  Putnam 
commanded  at  Redding  in  the  winter  of  1778-79,  is 
now  marked  by  Putnam  Memorial  Park,  in  which  a 
monument  has  been  erected  by  the  State  ot  Connecti- 
cut to  the  memory  of  the  men  who  were  stationed 
there.     Block-houses  and  log-cabins,  in  imitation  of  the 

*  Record  of  Connecticut  Men  During  the  Revolution,  Adju- 
tant-General's Office,  Hartford. 


i779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         397 

ancient  camp,  have  also  been  built,  while  of  special  and 
pathetic  interest  in  the  park  is  the  long  double  line  of 
stones  in  heaps  which  were  the  fire-places  in  the  rude 
huts  of  the  soldiers. 

Important  events  in  the  campaign  of  1779  occurred 
about  the  time  of  Putnam's  arrival  at  Smith's  Clove. 
On  May  31st,  the  British  advanced  up  the  Hudson  and 
captured  Stony  Point  and,  on  the  next  day,  they  com- 
pelled the  surrender  of  Fort  Lafayette,  which  stood  on 
the  opposite  shore  at  Verplanck's  Point.  It  was  evi- 
dent to  the  Americans  that  the  possession  of  these 
posts  by  the  British  was  the  beginning  of  hostile 
operations  against  West  Point.  Washington  realised 
the  necessity  of  being  situated  where  he  could,  at  the 
best  advantage,  attend  to  different  parts  of  the  army 
on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson  River.  He  accordingly 
established  his  headquarters  at  New  Windsor,  on  June 
23rd,  leaving  Putnam  in  immediate  charge  of  the  main 
body  of  troops,  which  had  marched  from  Middlebrook 
to  Smith's  Clove.  McDougall  commanded  at  West 
Point.  On  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson  were  the  bri- 
gades under  Heath,  namely — Nixon's  at  Constitution 
Island,  Parsons's  opposite  to  West  Point,  and  Hunting- 
ton's on  the  principal  road  leading  to  Fishkill. 

The  British,  instead  of  advancing  farther  up  the 
river  after  Stony  Point  and  Fort  Lafayette  had  fallen 
into  their  hands,  devoted  their  attention  to  a  series  ot 
marauding  expeditions  along  the  coast.  Connecticut 
suffered  especially  from  the  cruel  incursions.  Wash- 
ington was  quick  to  fathom  the  purpose  ot  the  enemy, 
who  hoped  by  diversions  to  induce  him  to  send  away 
a  part  of  his  force  from  the  Highlands  and  thus  expose 
West  Point  to  an  attack.  In  order  to  relieve  Connecti- 
cut from  British  ravages  and  to  strengthen  his  own 


398  Israel  Putnam  re- 

position on  the  Hudson,  Washington  planned  no  less 
daring  a  stroke  than  an  attempt  to  recover  Stony 
Point.  He  entrusted  the  enterprise  to  Anthony- 
Wayne  ;  and,  at  midnight  of  July  15th,  that  bold 
officer,  with  a  detachment  of  twelve  hundred  light  in- 
fantry, surprised  and  captured  the  stronghold  in  a 
brilliant  assault,  which  won  praises  even  from  the 
enemy.  Immediately  after  the  victory  the  works 
were  demolished  and  the  garrison,  with  the  cannon 
and  stores,  were  removed,  Washington  not  thinking  it 
prudent  to  retain  the  fortress.  The  object  in  storming 
Stony  Point  was  accomplished,  for  the  British  left 
Connecticut.  Their  progress  up  the  river  to  re-occupy 
their  old  position  was  impeded  as  much  as  possible  by 
the  Americans;  and  now  again  we  find  Putnam  actively 
engaged  in  a  kind  of  military  duty  that  was  much  to 
his  liking.  Notwithstanding  the  brave  General's  at- 
tempts to  drive  back  the  British,  the  enemy  succeeded 
in  regaining  possession  of  Stony  and  Verplanck's 
Points.  The  American  troops  were  then  concentrated 
about  West  Point."  Washington  established  his  head- 
quarters there  and  urged  forward  the  construction  of 
the  works  which  had  been  begun.  Putnam,  who  was 
stationed  at  Buttermilk  Falls,  two  miles  below  West 
Point,  retained  the  immediate  command  of  the  right 
wing  of  the  army. 

11  He  was  happy,"  writes  Humphreys  in  his  reminiscences  of 
the  General,  "  in  possessing  the  friendship  of  the  officers  of  that 
line,  and  in  living  on  terms  of  hospitality  with  them.  Indeed, 
there  was  no  family  in  the  army  that  lived  better  than  his  own. 
The  General,  his  second  son,  Major  Daniel  Putnam,  and  the 
writer  of  these  memoirs  composed  that  family." 

There  was  little  change  in  the  general  situation  of 


1779]         In  the  Recruiting  Service         399 

affairs  on  the  Hudson  or  around  New  York  until  about 
October  2 1 st,  when  the  enemy  destroyed  and  abandoned 
their  defences  at  Stony  and  Verplanck's  Points.  This 
movement  was  preliminary  to  the  departure  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  from  New  York  to  attempt  the  capture 
of  Charleston,  S.  C.  As  soon  as  the  Hudson  was  thus 
free  from  British  restraint,  the  Americans  moved  down 
the  river  and  took  possession  of  King's  Ferry.  So 
urgent  was  the  need  of  troops  in  South  Carolina  that 
Washington  detached  from  his  army  all  the  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  regiments  and  sent  them  South  to 
aid  in  resisting  the  British.  In  November  he  com- 
pleted preparations  for  wintering  in  New  Jersey  the 
troops  that  remained  in  the  North.  Putnam,  who  was 
to  be  with  the  Commander-in-chief  at  headquarters  at 
Morristown,  was  given  leave  of  absence  in  November 
for  a  brief  visit  home.  He  was  accompanied  to  Con- 
necticut by  his  son  Daniel  and  Aide-de-camp  Hum- 
phreys. How  little  the  General  realised  that  his 
military  career  was  ended  ! 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LAST   YEARS 


1779-1790 

N  December,  1779,  after  nearly  a  fort- 
night's visit  at  home,  Putnam  set  out 
on  horseback  to  rejoin  the  army,  which 
had  gone  into  winter  quarters  at.Mor- 
ristown,  N.  J.  On  the  road  between 
Pomfret  and  Hartford,  he  felt,  says 
Humphreys,  "  an  unusual  torpor  slowly  pervading  his 
right  hand  and  foot."  The  strange  heavy  sensation 
crept  gradually  on  until,  by  the  time  that  Putnam 
reached  the  house  of  his  friend,  Colonel  Jeremiah 
Wadsworth  at  Hartford,  his  entire  right  side  was 
affected.  The  General  could  not  believe  that  his  ail- 
ment was  paralysis,  and  so,  after  a  brief  rest,  he  tried 
to  shake  off  the  numb  feeling  by  exercise.  The  dis- 
ease, however,  was  upon  him,  and  he  soon  found  that 
he  must  give  up  the  thought  of  proceeding  on  his  way. 
As  is  often  the  case  with  men  of  high  emotion,  he 
was  thrown  by  his  disappointment  into  a  state  of 
temporary  dejection,  but  on  reaching  home,  where  he 
was  taken  as  soon  as  practicable,  he  recovered,  after 
a  little  time,  his  usual  cheerfulness. 

He  passed  a  comfortable  winter  in  the  care  of  his 
400 


1779-90]  Last  Years  4QI 

affectionate  sons  and  daughters.  Mehitable,  Mary, 
and  Eunice  —  respectively  Mrs.  Daniel  Tyler,  Mrs. 
Zachariah  Waldo,  and  Mrs.  Elisha  Avery  (afterwards 
Mrs.  Lemuel  Grosvenor) — were  living  in  Pomfret  and 
went  to  see  their  father  as  often  as  possible  at  the  old 
homestead,  where  he  made  his  home  with  the  family  of 
his  eldest  son.  Both  Israel,  Jr.,  and  Daniel  spent  the 
winter  in  Pomfret. 

Four  months  after  the  hero  was  "  laid  up  in  ordi- 
nary," he  received  a  visit  from  David  Humphreys,  who, 
being  greatly  attached  to  the  General,  wished  to  see 
him  again  before  returning  to  the  army.  In  a  Letter 
to  a  Young  Lady  in  Boston,  written  at  New  Haven, 
in  1780,  Putnam's  former  aide-de-camp  describes  in 
verse  his  journey  from  the  Massachusetts  capital  to 
Pomfret,  and  his  brief  sojourn  with  the  General  : 

"  The  sun,  to  our  New  World  now  present, 
Brought  in  the  day  benign  and  pleasant ; 
The  day,  by  milder  fates  attended, 
Our  plagues  at  Gen'ral  Putnam  's  ended. 
That  chief,  though  ill,  received  our  party 
With  joy,  and  gave  us  welcome  hearty  ; 
The  good  old  man,  of  death  not  fearful, 
Retained  his  mind  and  temper  cheerful  ; 
Retain'd  (with  palsy  sorely  smitten) 
His  love  of  country,  pique  for  Britain  ; 
He  told  of  many  a  deed  and  skirmish, 
That  basis  for  romance  might  furnish  ; 
The  stories  of  his  wars  and  woes, 
Which  I  shall  write  in  humble  prose, 
Should  Heaven  (that  fondest  schemes  can  mar) 
Protract  my  life  beyond  this  war." 

It  was  not  until  eight  years  after  these  lines  were 
penned  that  Humphreys  accomplished  his  plan  for  the 
biography  of  Putnam. 


402  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

When  Humphreys  returned  to  the  army  at  the 
beginning  of  the  new  campaign  of  1780,  to  serve  as 
Washington's  aide-de-camp,  he  carried  with  him  a 
letter  of  hopeful  tone  from  Putnam  to  the  Commander- 
in-chief.     It  read  as  follows  : 

"  POMERET,  29  May,  1780. 

"Dear  Sir, — I  cannot  forbear  informing  your  Excellency, 
by  the  return  of  Major  Humphreys  to  camp,  of  the  state  of  my 
health  from  the  first  of  my  illness  to  the  present  time.  After 
I  was  prevented  from  coming  on  to  the  army  by  a  stroke  of 
the  paralytic  kind,  which  deprived  me,  in  a  great  measure, 
of  the  use  of  my  right  leg  and  arm,  I  retired  to  my  plantation 
and  have  been  gradually  growing  better  ever  since.  I  have 
now  so  far  gained  the  use  of  my  limbs,  especially  of  my  leg, 
as  to  be  able  to  walk  with  very  little  impediment,  and  to  ride 
on  horseback  tolerably  well.  In  other  respects  I  am  in  per- 
fect health,  and  enjoy  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  life  with 
as  good  a  relish  as  most  of  my  neighbours. 

"Although  I  should  not  be  able  to  resume  a  command  in 
the  army,  I  propose  to  myself  the  happiness  of  making  a 
visit,  and  seeing  my  friends  there  some  time  in  the  course  of 
the  campaign.  And,  however  incapable  I  may  be  of  serving 
my  country,  to  my  latest  hour  my  wishes  and  prayers  will 
always  be  most  ardent  and  sincere  for  its  happiness  and  free- 
dom. As  a  principal  instrument  in  the  hand  of  Providence  for 
effecting  this,  may  Heaven  long  preserve  your  Excellency's 
most  important  and  valuable  life. 

"Not  being  able  to  hold  the  pen  in  my  own  hand,  I  am 
obliged  to  make  use  of  another  to  express  with  how  much 
regard  and  esteem,  I  am,  your  Excellency's 

"  Most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"  Israel  Putnam. 

"  P.  S.  I  am  making  a  great  effort  to  use  my  hand  to  make 

the  initials  of  my  name  for  the  first  time. 

"LP." 

Washington  replied  : 


i79o]  Last  Years  4°3 

"  Head-Quarters,  5  July,  1780. 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  am  very  happy  to  learn  from  your  letter 
of  the  29th  [of  May]  handed  me  by  Major  Humphreys,  that 
the  present  state  of  your  health  is  so  flattering,  and  that  it 
promises  you  the  prospect  of  being  in  a  condition  to  make  a 
visit  to  your  old  associates  some  time  this  campaign.  I  wish 
it  were  in  my  power  to  congratulate  you  on  a  complete  re- 
covery. I  should  feel  a  sincere  satisfaction  in  such  an  event, 
and  I  hope  for  it  heartily,  with  the  rest  of  your  friends  in  this 
quarter. 

"I  am,  dear  Sir,  &c, 

"G.  Washington." 

Putnam  was  not  to  be  disappointed  in  his  earnest 
desire  to  visit  the  army.  We  find  him  at  Tappan  in 
the  autumn  of  1780.  "  General  Putnam  is  here," 
wrote  General  Greene  in  closing  a  letter  to  his  wife 
from  that  place  in  September,  "  talking  as  usual,  and 
telling  his  old  stories,  which  prevents  my  writing  more. 
The  old  gentleman,  notwithstanding  the  late  paralytical 
shock,  is  very  cheerful  and  social."  * 

Putnam  was  in  the  camp  at  the  time  of  the  discovery 
of  the  dark  plot  of  Benedict  Arnold  to  betray  West 
Point  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  he  shared  in  all 
the  excited  indignation  occasioned  by  that  base  treason. 
With  keen  interest,  after  his  return  home,  the  General 
awaited  tidings  of  the  progress  of  military  affairs,  and 
no  patriot  rejoiced  more  than  he  over  the  victory  that 
finally  crowned  the  American  arms.  When  peace  was 
made  and  independence  firmly  established,  Putnam 
wrote  to  Washington,  congratulating  him  on  the  splen- 
did success  of  the  cause  which  had  been  so  dear  to  both 
their  hearts.     The   letter  which   came   in   reply   the 


*  G.  W.  Greene,  Life  of  Major-General  Nathanael  Greene, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  233. 


404  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

General  treasured  with  great  pride.     Here  is  Wash- 
ington's letter  to  Putnam  : 

"Head-Quarters,  2 June,  1783. 

"Dear  Sir, — Yonr  favor  of  the  20th  of  May  I  received 
with  much  pleasure  ;  for  I  can  assure  you,  that,  among  the 
many  worthy  and  meritorious  officers  with  whom  I  have  had 
the  happiness  to  be  connected  in  service  through  the  course 
of  this  war,  and  from  whose  cheerful  assistance  and  advice 
I  have  received  much  support  and  confidence,  in  the  various 
and  trying  vicissitudes  of  a  complicated  contest,  the  name  of 
a  Putnam  is  not  forgotten  ;  nor  will  it  be  but  with  that  stroke 
of  time,  which  shall  obliterate  from  my  mind  the  remembrance 
of  all  those  toils  and  fatigues,  through  which  we  have  struggled 
for  the  preservation  and  establishment  of  the  rights,  liberties, 
and  independence  of  our  country. 

"Your  congratulations  on  the  happy  prospects  of  peace  and 
independent  security,  with  their  attendant  blessings  to  the 
United  States,  I  receive  with  great  satisfaction  ;  and  beg  that 
you  will  accept  a  return  of  my  gratulations  to  you  on  this 
auspicious  event  ;  an  event,  in  which,  great  as  it  is  in  itself, 
and  glorious  as  it  will  probably  be  in  its  consequences,  you 
have  a  right  to  participate  largely,  from  the  distinguished 
part  you  have  contributed  towards  its  attainment. 

"But  while  I  contemplate  the  greatness  of  the  object  for 
which  we  have  contended,  and  felicitate  you  on  the  happy 
issue  of  our  toils  and  labors,  which  have  terminated  with 
such  general  satisfaction,  I  lament  that  you  should  feel  the 
ungrateful  returns  of  a  country,  in  whose  service  you  have  ex- 
hausted your  bodily  health,  and  expended  the  vigor  of  a  youth- 
ful constitution.  I  wish,  however,  that  your  expectations  of 
returning  sentiments  of  liberality  may  be  verified.  I  have  a 
hope,  they  may  ;  but,  should  they  not,  your  case  will  not  be 
a  singular  one.  Ingratitude  has  been  experienced  in  all  ages, 
and  republics  in  particular  have  ever  been  famed  for  the 
exercise  of  that  unnatural  and  sordid  vice. 

"The  secretary  of  war,  who  is  now  here,  informs  me  that 
you  have  ever  been  considered  as  entitled  to  full  pay  since  your 
absence  from  the  field :  and  that  you  will  be  still  considered 


i79o]  Last  Years  405 

in  that  light  till  the  close  of  the  war,  at  which  period  you  will 
be  equally  entitled  to  the  same  emolument  of  half-pay  or  com- 
mutation as  other  officers  of  your  rank.  The  same  opinion 
is  also  given  by  the  paymaster-general,  who  is  now  with  the 
army,  empowered  by  Mr.  Morris  for  the  settlement  of  all  their 
accounts,  and  who  will  attend  to  yours  whenever  you  shall 
think  proper  to  send  on  for  the  purpose  ;  which  it  will  pro- 
bably be  best  for  you  to  do  in  a  short  time. 

11 1  anticipate  with  pleasure  the  day,  and  that  I  trust  not  far 
off,  when  I  shall  quit  the  busy  scenes  of  a  military  employment, 
and  retire  to  the  more  tranquil  walks  of  domestic  life.  In 
that,  or  whatever  other  situation  Providence  may  dispose  my 
future  days,  the  remembrance  of  the  many  friendships  and 
connections  I  have  had  the  happiness  to  contract  with  the 
gentlemen  of  the  army  will  be  one  of  my  most  grateful  reflec- 
tions. Under  this  contemplation,  and  impressed  with  the 
sentiments  of  benevolence  and  regard,  I  commend  you,  my 
dear  Sir,  my  other  friends,  and  with  them  the  interests  and 
happiness  of  our  dear  country  to  the  keeping  and  protection 
of  Almighty  God. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c, 

11  G.  Washington." 

Putnam  received  frequent  visits  at  his  home  from  old 
comrades  and  friends  and  relatives,  and  he  took  keen 
delight  in  entertaining  them  with  his  reminiscences. 
"He  gave  me,"  says  his  guest  Judge  Samuel  Putnam,* 
"  a  great  many  anecdotes  of  the  war  in  which  he  had 
been  engaged  before  the  Revolution,  tracing  the  re- 
markable events  upon  a  map."  These  "  anecdotes" 
included  the  hero's  experiences  as  a  prisoner  in  the 
forest  when  the  Indians,  after  binding  him  to  a  tree 
to  burn  him  alive,  danced  and  yelled  around  him. 
"  General  Putnam  said  that  their  gestures  in  the  dance 
were  so  inexpressibly  ridiculous  that  he  could  not  for- 
bear laughing.     I  expressed  some  surprise  that  he  could 

*  Letter  to  Colonel  Perley  Putnam. 


406  Israel  Putnam  [i77c^ 

laugh  under  such  circumstances,  to  which  he  mildly 
replied  that  his  composure  had  no  merit,  that  it  was 
constitutional,  and  said  that  he  had  never  felt  any 
bodily  fear." 

Two  stories  concerning  himself,  Putnam  was  espe- 
cially fond  of  telling  in  his  old  age,  so  we  learn  from 
family  annals.  On  one  occasion,  the  General,  without 
intending  an  insult,  happened  to  offend  a  brother  officer 
by  some  remark.  The  latter,  who  was  very  hot- 
tempered,  demanded  instant  reparation  ;  and  it  was 
arranged  that  a  duel  should  take  place  on  the  following 
morning  and  that  they  should  fight  without  seconds. 
At  the  appointed  time  the  officer  appeared,  armed  with 
sword  and  pistols,  but  before  he  could  take  his  posi- 
tion, Putnam,  who  was  already  on  the  ground,  quickly 
stepped  back  a  distance  of  thirty  rods,  levelled  his  gun 
and  fired.  ■*  What  are  you  doing  ?  "  cried  the  officer, 
running  towards  Putnam,  who  was  reloading  his 
weapon  for  the  apparent  purpose  of  firing  again. 
"  What  am  I  doing  ?  "  replied  the  General  ;  "  a  pretty 
question  to  ask  a  man  whom  you  intended  to  murder  ! 
I  am  going  to  kill  you,  and  if  you  don't  beat  a  retreat 
in  less  time  than  it  would  take  old  Heath  to  hang  a 
Tory,  you  are  a  gone  dog  !  "  While  uttering  these 
words,  Putnam  returned  his  ramrod  to  its  place,  threw 
the  butt  of  his  gun  into  the  hollow  of  his  shoulder,  and 
took  aim  at  his  antagonist.  The  would-be  duellist 
forthwith  turned  and  fled  for  dear  life. 

The  other  favourite  story,  which  Putnam  used  to 
enjoy  telling,  was  how  he  once  criticised  the  British 
severely  in  the  presence  of  several  persons,  among 
whom  was  a  British  officer,  a  prisoner  on  his  parole, 
who  felt  that  he  was  personally  insulted,  and  sent  Put- 
nam a  challenge  to  a  duel.     It  was  accepted,  with  the 


PUTNAM'S  DUEL  WITH  THE  BRITISH  OFFICER. 


i79o]  Last  Years  407 

agreement  that  they  should  meet  the  next  morning 
without  seconds,  and  that  Putnam  himself  should  pro- 
vide the  weapons.  What  was  the  surprise  of  the 
Englishman  on  arriving  at  the  appointed  place  to  find 
Putnam  sitting  beside  a  powder-barrel,  calmly  smoking 
a  pipe.  Bidding  the  officer  take  a  seat  on  the  other 
side,  Putnam  lighted  a  match,  which  had  been  placed 
in  a  small  opening  in  the  head  of  the  barrel,  and  in  a 
nonchalant  tone  remarked  that  there  was  an  equal 
chance  for  them  both.  The  officer  in  fright  sprang  to 
escape  from  the  impending  explosion,  which  followed 
immediately,  when  Putnam  said  :  "  You  are  just  as 
brave  a  man  as  I  thought,"  and  then  explained  that 
only  a  thin  layer  of  powder  covered  the  top  of  the  bar- 
rel, which  was  filled  with  vegetables. 

Putnam  retained  as  a  citizen  his  interest  in  local 
affairs,  especially  when  the  town  of  Brooklyn  was  set 
off  from  Pomfret.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he 
strongly  opposed  the  opening  of  another  tavern.  He 
stated  his  reasons  in  a  letter,  which  he  dictated  to  a 
member  of  his  household  and  sent  to  the  Windham 
County  Court  : 

"  Brooklyn,  Feb.  18,  1782. 
"Gentlemen, — Being  an  enemy  to  Idleness,  Dissipation, 
and  Intemperance,  I  would  object  against  any  measures  which 
may  be  conducive  thereto ;  and  the  multiplying  of  public 
houses,  where  the  public  good  does  not  require  it,  has  a  direct 
tendency  to  ruin  the  morals  of  youth,  and  promote  idleness  and 
intemperance  among  all  ranks  of  people,  especially  as  the 
grand  object  of  the  candidates  for  licenses  is  money  ;  and,  when 
that  is  not  the  case,  men  are  not  over  apt  to  be  tender  of 
people's  morals  or  purses.  The  authorities  of  this  town,  I 
think,  have  run  into  a  great  error  in  approbating  an  additional 
number  of  public  houses,  especially  in  this  parish.  They  have 
approbated  two  houses  in  the  centre,  where  there  never  was 


408  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

custom  (I  mean  travelling  custom)  enough  for  one.  The  other 
custom  (the  domestic)  I  have  been  informed,  has,  of  late  years, 
increased  ;  and  the  licensing  another  house,  I  fear,  would  in- 
crease it  more.  As  I  kept  a  public  house  here  myself  a  num- 
ber of  years  before  the  war,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing, 
and  certainly  do  know,  that  the  travelling  custom  is  too  trifling 
for  a  man  to  lay  himself  out  so  as  to  keep  such  a  house  as  trav- 
ellers have  a  right  to  expect.  Therefore,  I  hope  your  Honours 
will  consult  the  good  of  this  parish,  so  as  to  license  only  one 
of  the  two  houses.  I  shall  not  undertake  to  say  which  ought 
to  be  licensed.  Your  Honours  will  act  according  to  your  best 
information. 

"  I  am,  with  esteem, 

"Your  Honour's  humble  servant, 

"  Israel  Putnam. 
"To  the  Honourable  County  Court,  to  be  holden  at  Wind- 
ham on  the  19th  instant." 

In  an  address,  delivered  at  Putnam,  Connecticut,  on 
October  25,  1855,  at  a  meeting  of  the  descendants  of 
the  General,  his  great-grandson,  Rev.  Iy.  Grosvenor, 
said  : 

"He  [General  Putnam]  is  described  by  those  now  living, 
who  frequently  saw  him  in  his  old  age,  as  being  very  large 
around  the  chest,  showing  what  we  would  expect  from  his 
habits,  a  great  amount  of  the  sanguine,  vital  temperament. 
Even  after  his  final  return  from  the  wars,  when  one  side  of  him 
was  so  paralysed  that  his  right  arm  clung  close  and  useless  to 
his  side,  and  he  had  to  be  assisted  to  mount  his  horse,  he  rode 
almost  every  day  on  horseback,  'sitting  up  as  straight  as  a 
boy.'  " 

Putnam  regained  his  strength  to  such  a  degree  that 
he  was  able,  as  late  as  in  1786,  to  make  a  journey  to 
his  birthplace  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  accompanied 
thither  by  his  coloured  man,  Dick.  Says  Judge  Samuel 
Putnam,  in  his  reminiscences  of  the  General  : 


i79o]  Last  Years  4°9 

"He  rode  on  horseback  from  Brooklyn  to  Danvers  and  paid 
his  last  visit  to  his  friends  there.  On  his  way  home  he  stopped 
at  Cambridge  at  the  College,  where  the  governor  of  the  College 
paid  him  much  attention.  It  was  in  my  junior  year  ;  he  came 
into  my  room.     His  speech  was  much  affected  by  palsy." 

It  was  soon  after  Putnam's  return  from  his  visit  to 
Massachusetts  that  his  son  Israel  joined  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany, which  had  been  organised  by  General  Rufus 
Putnam  and  others,  and  removed  with  his  family  to 
the  West.  At  this  time,  Daniel,  who  had  married 
Catharine  Hutchinson  in  1782,  was  living  on  a  farm 
of  his  own  which  had  once  belonged  to  Godfrey  Mal- 
bone's  estate.  The  General's  youngest  son,  Peter 
Schuyler  Putnam,  who  had  recently  brought  his  bride, 
Lucy  Frink,  to  the  Putnam  homestead,  assumed  full 
charge  of  the  old  farm.  Here  the  veteran  continued 
to  spend  his  last  days,  in  the  house  which  he  himself 
had  built  in  the  early  period  of  his  life  in  Connecticut, 
and  which  since  then  had  beeu  considerably  enlarged. 

This  pleasant  glimpse  of  Putnam  is  given  by  his 
great-grandson,  the  minister  Grosvenor,  in  the  address 
of  1855  : 

"  Many  anecdotes  are  related  of  his  energy  and  perseverance 
in  the  days  of  his  bodily  feebleness.  Those  who  are  old  now, 
but  boys  then,  remember,  and  tell  with  delight,  about  the 
General's  spirited  bay  mare,  and  the  perfect  mastery  which  he 
maintained  over  her,  bringing  her  at  any  time  to  a  dead  halt, 
by  shaking  the  head  of  his  ivory-headed  cane.  He  was  fre- 
quently seen  at  the  houses  of  his  sons  and  daughters  in 
Brooklyn  and  Pomfret,  and  at  the  raisings  and  other  gather* 
ings  and  merrymakings  in  the  neighbourhood.  There,  seated 
in  some  arm-chair,  promptly  brought  forward  by  the  young 
men  for  his  comfort,  he  leaning  like  another  old  patriarch  on 
the  top  of  his  staff,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  children  and 
grandchildren,  and  friends  and  neighbours,  related  abundant 


410  Israel  Putnam  [1779- 

anecdotes  of  the  olden  time,  while  his  happy  audience  greeted 
with  loud  laughter  the  outflowings  of  his  ready  wit  and  his 
kindly  and  genial  humour." 

On  Sundays  Putnam  was  not  prevented  by  his  physi- 
cal infirmity  from  attending  the  services  at  the  Congre- 
gational meeting-house.  He  even  ventured  out  in  the 
evening  to  the  prayer-meetings,  and  would  add  his 
religious  testimony  to  that  of  others.  There  is  a  story 
that  once  a  brother  Christian  made  some  pointed  re- 
marks, expressing  doubt  as  to  the  possibility  of  effectual 
grace  being  granted  to  a  person  who  had  ever  been 
addicted  to  profanity.  The  General  forthwith  arose 
and  confessed  the  failing  which  he  had  finally  over- 
come, but  he  added,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  It  was 
enough  to  make  an  angel  swear  at  Bunker  Hill  to  see 
the  rascals  run  away  from  the  British  !  " 

In  the  autumn  of  1787,  Putnam  received  a  welcome 
visit  from  Humphreys,  who  had  recently  returned 
from  Europe,  where  he  had  been  on  diplomatic  service. 
Putnam,  so  his  friend  found,  "  retained  unimpaired 
his  relish  for  enjoyment,  his  love  of  pleasantry,  his 
strength  of  memory,  and  all  the  faculties  of  his  mind." 
He  was  easily  induced  to  repeat  the  principal  incidents 
of  his  eventful  life,  while  his  visitor  undertook  the 
pleasing  task  of  committing  them  to  paper  as  material 
for  the  proposed  biography.  It  was  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
the  home  of  Washington,  that  Humphreys  wrote  the 
Essay  on  the  Life  of  the  Honourable  Major- General  Put- 
nam for  the  Connecticut  State  Society  of  Cincinnati, 
which  was  published  in  1788,  while  the  hero  was  still 
living. 

"It  occurred  to  me,"  says  Humphreys  in  this  book,  "that 
an  attempt  to  preserve  the  actions  of  General  Putnam,  in  the 


i79o]  Last  Years  411 

archives  of  our  State  Society,  would  be  acceptable  to  its  mem- 
bers, as  they  had  all  served  with  great  satisfaction  under  his 
immediate  orders.  General  Putnam  is  universally  acknow- 
ledged to  have  been  as  brave  and  as  honest  a  man  as  ever 
America  produced,  but  the  distinguishing  features  of  his  char- 
acter, and  the  particular  transactions  of  his  life  are  but  im- 
perfectly known.  He  seems  to  have  been  formed  on  purpose 
for  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  His  native  courage,  unshaken 
integrity,  and  established  reputation  as  a  soldier,  were  neces- 
sary in  the  early  stages  of  our  opposition  to  the  designs  of 
Great  Britain  and  gave  unbounded  confidence  to  our  troops  in 
their  first  conflicts  in  the  field  of  battle.  ...  In  patient 
yet  fearless  expectation  of  the  approach  of  the  King  of  Terrors, 
whom  he  hath  full  often  faced  in  the  field  of  blood,  the  Chris- 
tian hero  now  enjoys  in  domestic  retirement  the  fruit  of  his 
early  industry." 

On  Thursday,  May  27,  1790,  Putnam  was  violently 
attacked  by  an  inflammatory  disease.  He  rapidly 
failed,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  his  end  was  near. 
His  mind  was  clear  to  the  last.  He  passed  away, 
"  calm  and  resigned,"  on  Saturday,  May  29th.  The 
funeral  was  on  Tuesday,  June  1st.  The  Independence 
Chronicle  and  Universal  Advertiser  of  June  10,  1790, 
contained  the  following  account  of  the  burial  service  : 

"  Brooklyn,  Conn.,  June  3,  1790. — Saturday  last  died  here, 
after  a  short  illness,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age,  that  celebrated 
hero,  patriot,  and  philanthropist,  Israel  Putnam,  Esq.,  Major- 
General  in  the  late  Continental  Army.  He  enjoyed  his  reason 
to  the  last  moments  of  his  life,  and  with  remarkable  cheerful- 
ness and  solid  satisfaction,  left  this  for  the  everlasting  rewards 
of  a  better  and  more  glorious  country,  and  on  Tuesday  his 
funeral  was  attended  by  the  largest  and  most  respectable  col- 
lection of  the  inhabitants  ever  known  here  on  a  like  occasion. 
After  a  well  adapted  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Josiah 
Whitney,  the  procession  moved  to  the  burying  ground  in  tho 
following  order : 


412  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

Company  of  Grenadiers, 

Militia  of  the  Town,  with  reversed  arms, 

Music, 

Company  of  Artillery, 

Free  Masons  in  the  badges  of  their  order, 

Bearers— The  Corpse  -Bearers, 

Mourners, 

The  Clergy, 

The  Church  of  Brooklyn, 

Military  Officers, 

Inhabitants. 

"When  the  procession  had  arrived  at  the  burying  ground, 
the  troops  opening  to  the  right  and  left,  the  Masons  passed  on 
to  the  grave,  and  after  performing  their  accustomed  ancient 
ceremonies  and  pronouncing  a  short  eulogium  on  the  character 
of  the  deceased,  the  Grenadiers  advanced  and  three  platoons 
fired,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  discharge  from  the  artillery. 
The  whole  was  concluded  with  that  order  and  decorum  which 
the  love  and  respect  of  the  inhabitants  inspired." 

The  funeral  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Whitney  was 
soon  afterwards  printed  in  pamphlet  form.  In  closing 
this  discourse,  on  the  text  from  Ecclesiastes  vii.,  2, 
"  That  is  the  end  of  all  men;  and  the  living  will  lay  it 
to  his  heart," — Putnam's  old  pastor  and  friend  spoke 
with  feeling  of  the  hero's  character.  He  said  of  the 
General : 

11  He  was  eminently  a  person  of  a  public  spirit— an  unshaken 
friend  to  liberty  ;  and  was  proof  against  attempts  to  induce 
him  to  betray  and  desert  his  country  ;  the  baits  to  do  so  were 
rejected  with  the  utmost  abhorrence.  He  was  of  a  kind,  bene- 
volent disposition — pitiful  to  the  distressed— charitable  to  the 
needy — ready  to  assist  all  who  wanted  his  help.  In  his  family 
— he  was  the  tender,  affectionate  husband— the  provident  father 
— an  example  of  industry  and  close  application  to  business. 
He  was  a  constant  attendant  upon  the  public  worship  of  God, 
from  his  youth  up.  He  brought  his  family  with  him,  when  he 
came  to  worship  the  I/ord.  He  was  not  ashamed  of  family 
religion — his  house  was  a  house  of  prayer.  For  many  years  he 
was  a  professor  of  religion.     In  the  last  years  of  his  life  he 


i79o]  Last  Years  4*3 

often  expressed  a  great  regard  for  God  and  the  things  of  God. 
There  is  one  at  least  to  whom  he  freely  disclosed  the  workings 
of  his  mind — his  conviction  of  sin — grief  for  it— dependence  on 
God  through  the  Redeemer,  for  pardon — and  hope  of  a  happy 
future  existence  whenever  his  heart  and  strength  should  fail 
him.  This  one  makes  mention  hereof  for  the  satisfaction  and 
comfort  of  his  children  and  friends  ;  and  can  add,  that  being  with 
the  General  a  little  before  he  died,  asked  him  whether  his  hope 
of  future  happiness  (as  formerly  expressed)  now  attended  him  ? 
His  answer  was  in  the  affirmative,  with  a  declaration  of  his 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God  and  willingness  even  then  to  die." 

The  eulogium  pronounced  at  the  grave  of  Putnam 
by  Dr.  Albigence  Waldo,  and  published  in  the  In- 
dependence  Chronicle  of  June  24,  1790,  and  in  Thomas's 
Massachusetts  Spy,  was  as  follows  : 

"Those  venerable  relics!  once  delighted  in  the  endearing 
domestic  virtues,  which  constitute  the  excellent  neighbour — 
husband — parent — and  worthy  brother  !  liberal  and  substantial 
in  his  friendship  ; — unsuspicious — open — and  generous  ; — just 
and  sincere  in  dealing  ; — a  benevolent  citizen  of  the  world — He 
concentrated  in  his  bosom  the  noble  qualities  of  an  Honest  Man. 
"Born  a  hero, — whom  nature  taught  and  cherished  in  the 
lap  of  innumerable  toils  and  dangers,  he  was  terrible  in  battle  ! 
But,  from  the  amiableness  of  his  heart — when  carnage  ceased, 
his  humanity  spread  over  the  field,  like  the  refreshing  zephyrs 
of  a  summer's  evening  ! — The  prisoner — the  wounded— the  sick 
— the  forlorn — experienced  the  delicate  sympathy  of  this  Sol- 
dier's Pillar — The  poor,  and  the  needy,  of  every  description, 
received  the  charitable  bounties  of  this  Christian  Soldier. 

"He  pitied  littleness — loved  goodness — admired  greatness, 
and  ever  aspired  to  its  glorious  summit !  The  friend,  the  serv- 
ant, and  almost  unparalleled  lover  of  his  country  ; — worn  with 
honourable  age  and  the  former  toils  of  war — Putnam !  '  Rests 
from  his  labours.' 

"  Till  mouldering  worlds  and  tumbling  systems  burst ! 
When  the  last  trump  shall  renovate  his  dust- 
Still  by  the  mandate  of  eternal  truth, 
His  soul  will  '  nourish  in  immortal  youth.' 

"This  all  who  knew  him  know  ;— this  all  who  lov'd  him,  tell." 


4-H  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

The  General  was  buried  in  the  Brooklyn  cemetery. 
A  tomb  two  or  three  feet  high  was  built  of  brick,  and 
across  the  top  was  placed  a  marble  slab  with  this 
epitaph  by  the  Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  who,  five  years 
later,  became  the  President  of  Yale  College,  and  who 
had  been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  hero  in  private 
and  public  life  ; 

To  the  memory 

Of 

Israel  Putnam,  Esquire, 

Senior  Major  General  in  the  Armies 

Of 

The  United  States  of  America 

Who 

Was  born  at  Salem 

In  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 

On  the  seventh  day  of  January 

A.D.  1718: 

And  died 

On  the  twenty  ninth  day  of  May 

A.D.  1790: 

Passenger 

If  thou  art  a  Soldier 

Drop  a  Tear  over  the  dust  of  a  Hero 

Who 

Ever  attentive 

To  the  lives  and  happiness  of  his  Men 

Dared  to  lead 

Where  any  Dared  to  follow  ; 

If  a  Patriot 

Remember  the  distinguished  and  gallant  services 

Rendered  thy  Country 

By  the  Patriot  who  sleeps  beneath  this  Monument ; 

If  thou  art  Honest,  generous  &  worthy 

Render  a  cheerful  tribute  of  respect 

To  a  Man 

Whose  generosity  was  singular 

Whose  honesty  was  proverbial 

Who 

Raised  himself  to  universal  esteem 

And  offices  of  Eminent  distinction 

By  personal  worth 

And  a 

Useful  life. 


. 


GENERAL  PUTNAM'S  MONUMENT. 


i79o]  Last  Years  4*5 

By  his  will,  which  was  dated  February  25,  1782, 
Putnam  left  about  a  thousand  acres  of  land,  in  Pomfret, 
Brooklyn,  and  Canterbury,  divided  between  his  sons, 
Israel,  Daniel,  and  Peter  Schuyler,  and  twelve  hundred 
pounds  in  money,  divided  equally  among  his  four 
daughters;  he  bequeathed  also  to  his  grandson,  Elisha 
Avery,  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  in  money  ;  and 
also  to  his  son,  Peter  Schuyler,  all  his  live  stock,  farm- 
ing tools,  and  provisions. 

Putnam's  short  battle  sword,  with  scabbard,  was  be- 
queathed by  his  grandson,  Lemuel  Putnam  Grosvenor, 
who  inherited  it,  to  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society. 
It  was  formally  delivered  to  the  Society  in  1859,  on  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-first  anniversary  of  the  General's 
birth.  Another  sword  which  once  belonged  to  Putnam 
is  now  owned  by  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Associa- 
tion, and  is  kept  on  exhibition  in  the  Lodge  at  the  foot 
of  the  monument  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts. 
Among  the  relics  of  Putnam  which  are  owned  to-day 
by  individuals  are  his  plough  and  saddle,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  A.  E.  Brooks,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  who 
believes  them  to  be  genuine.  In  addition  to  their  as- 
sociations, they  are  of  special  interest  as  types  of  what 
was  used  in  the  old  hero's  days. 

There  are  two  noteworthy  statues  to  the  memory  of 
Putnam,  both  of  them  in  Connecticut.  One  of  them  is 
in  Bushnell  Park,  at  Hartford,  in  front  of  the  State 
Capitol,  and  was  erected  from  a  legacy  left  by  Joseph 
Pratt  AHyn  of  that  city.  This  statue,  which  represents 
the  General  in  the  military  costume  of  his  day,  was 
designed  by  J.  Q.  A.  Ward,  and  was  unveiled  on  June 
17,  1874,  with  appropriate  exercises.  The  other  statue 
of  Putnam— an  equestrian  statue — is  at  Brooklyn,  and 
was  placed  there  by  the  State.     By  the  wear  of  almost 


4i 6  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

a  century,  the  old  tomb  became  dilapidated,  and  the 
marble  slab  across  the  top  was  mutilated  by  relic  hunt- 
ers. The  condition  of  the  monument  was  so  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  illustrious  dead,  that  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Connecticut  in  1886  appointed  commissioners 
to  erect  a  suitable  monument  by  the  State.  The  design 
of  Karl  Gerbardt  was  chosen,  representing  the  General 
on  his  war-horse.  The  plot  of  ground  on  which  this 
equestrian  statue  stands  is  situated  near  the  Brooklyn 
public  square,  and  is  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
historic  Mortlake  property.  To  the  north  is  the  old 
meeting-house  where  Putnam  rang  the  bell  and  at- 
tended service  ;  to  the  north-east  is  the  site  of  his  inn  ; 
and  to  the  east  is  the  field  where  the  old  hero  left  his 
plough  and  the  quiet  pursuits  of  husbandry  for  the 
cause  of  liberty  and  the  field  of  battle. 

The  dust  of  Putnam  was  removed  from  the  cemetery, 
where  he  was  originally  buried,  and  placed  in  a  sar- 
cophagus which  was  built  into  the  foundation  of  the 
monument.  The  statue  is  of  bronze.  At  each  end  of 
the  stone  pedestal  there  is  an  ornamented  wolfs  head 
in  bronze.  The  tablets  bear  the  original  epitaph  by 
President  Dwight.*  This  monument  was  dedicated, 
June  14,  1888,  with  exercises  of  great  interest. 

The  facts  of  Israel  Putnam's  life  plainly  show  that 


*  The  old  slab  which  covered  the  original  tomb  of  Putnam  is 
now  kept  in  the  lower  corridor  of  the  Capitol  at  Hartford. 
Since  its  removal  from  Brooklyn  the  inscription  upon  it  has 
called  attention  to  a  curious  error  which  has  been  generally 
made  in  regard  to  the  exact  day  of  the  month  of  his  death.  It 
is  given  as  May  19,  1790,  in  the  biographies  of  Putnam  by 
Humphreys,  Cutter,  Peabody,  Hill,  and  Tarbox,  and  also  in 
The  Century  Cyclopedia  of  Names,  Appleton's  and  Johnson's 
Cyclopaedias,  and  other  well-known  books.     The  date  on  the 


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SLAB  TAKEN  FROM  ISRAEL  PUTNAM'S  GRAVE  IN  BROOKLYN  CONN 
NOW  KEPT  IN  STATE  HOUSE,  HARTFORD,  CONN 


1790]  Last  Years  4l7 

the  qualities  of  character  which  distinguished  him  and 
gave  him  an  honoured  place  among  the  makers  of 
American  history  were  positiveness  and  friendliness 
and  hopefulness.  He  was  more  than  the  bold  ranger 
or  the  undaunted  fighter.  He  was,  as  was  said  at  his 
funeral,  the  true  man. 

His  positiveness  was  of  that  kind  which  creates  en- 
thusiasm. It  was  inspiring  to  be  in  the  presence  of 
one  who  had  never  known  fear  whatsoever.  The 
thrilling  exploits,  from  the  wolf-hunt  at  Pomfret  to 
the  ride  down  the  rocky  height  at  Horseneck,  were 
not  mere  adventures  prompted  by  the  chance  of  circum- 
stances. They  were  evidences  of  a  force  of  character 
which  manifested  itself  in  manifold  ways.  The  years 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War  were  characterised,  not 
only  by  the  bold  deeds  of  the  faithful  ranger  in  con- 
stantly reconnoitring  the  enemy's  camp,  or  in  pursuing 
plunderers,  or  in  guarding  the  army  against  sudden 
attack,  but  also  by  that  eagerness  for  the  rescue  of 
others  from  danger,  which  impelled  him,  single-handed, 
at  the  risk  of  his  life,  to  save  a  comrade  from  the  fury 
of  a  savage,  or  to  steer  companions  skilfully  through 
dangerous  rapids  away  from  the  foe,  or  to  hasten  with 
his  little  band  of  men  to  the  protection  of  soldiers  who 
were  under  an  unexpected  assault  by  the  enemy,  and 


slab,  however,  is  lettered  "the  twenty-ninth  day  of  May,"  and 
is  the  same  as  that  mentioned  in  the  pamphlet  which  contains 
the  funeral  sermon  by  Rev.  Josiah  Whitney.  The  error  after- 
wards made  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact  that  Humphreys, 
whose  book  was  published  for  the  first  time  while  Putnam  was 
living,  died  before  the  new  edition  appeared  in  1818,  and  the 
person,  unknown  to  us  to-day,  who  added  the  account  of  the 
General's  death  and  burial,  used  numerals  in  copying  the  date 
from  the  old  tomb  and  wrote  by  mistake  19th  instead  of  29th. 


4i 8  Israel  Putnam  [i779- 

who  had  been  abandoned  to  their  fate.  This  was  more 
than  simple  daring  on  Putnam's  part.  It  was  energy 
and  efficiency  as  the  result  of  self-forgetfulness.  In 
the  national  struggle  for  independence  the  same  quality 
of  character  found  expression  in  him.  When  others 
faltered,  he  remained  strong-hearted.  When  others 
would  question  or  debate  the  expediency  of  an  under- 
taking, he  was  eager  for  action.  He  would  draw  the 
British  wolf  out  of  the  den,  not  delay  nor  dally!  His 
instant  response  from  the  plough  to  the  call  to  service, 
the  ride  to  Boston,  the  marshalling  of  men,  the  advance 
to  the  gates  of  the  enemy's  stronghold  for  siege  and 
conflict,  and  the  memorable  encounter  at  Bunker  Hill, 
— who  does  not  recognise  in  these  events  of  Putnam's 
life  a  forceful  purpose  which  made  him  the  practical 
commander-in-chief  of  patriots  ?  Whatever  may  be 
thought,  from  a  strictly  military  point  of  view,  of  his 
capacity  for  handling  large  bodies  of  troops,  it  is  certain 
that  he  was  of  invaluable  service,  in  the  struggle  for 
liberty,  in  arousing  men  to  courage  and  patriotism  by 
his  own  positive  nature. 

Another  quality  of  Putnam's  character  was  his 
friendliness.  Jealousy  could  find  no  place  in  his  heart. 
The  generosity  of  his  whole  nature  cherished  every 
friendship.  Those  with  whom  he  had  once  shared,  in 
the  colonial  wars,  common  privations  and  dangers  on 
land  and  water,  and  by  fire  and  sword,  were  still  his 
personal  friends  in  the  American  Revolution,  though 
they  might  be  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  King.  The 
affectionate  attachment  to  former  comrades,  which 
found  expression  during  the  suspension  of  military 
formalities  of  hostile  camps,  meant  no  less  love  on  his 
part  for  the  cause  in  which  he  was  serving.  The  tender 
incidents  which  we  find  also  in  the  story  of  his  life — his 


STATUE  OF  GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM,  AT  BROOKLYN,  CONN. 


(i79o  Last   Years  419 

compassion  for  the  sorrowing,  his  care  for  the  suffer- 
ing, his  chivalry  to  women,  his  kindness  to  children, 
his  thoughtfulness  for  the  weak — are  evidences  of  the 
same  generous  nature.  In  the  dear  and  close  relation 
of  the  home  life,  he  was  the  devoted  husband  and  the 
affectionate  father. 

Hopefulness  was  the  third  trait.  Putnam  knew  by 
remarkable  experience  the  vicissitudes  of  life,  but  hard- 
ships could  not  cast  him  down,  nor  disappointments 
embitter  his  nature.  The  unusual  demands  on  the 
ranger — the  long  forest  marches,  the  continual  vigi- 
lance against  lurking  danger,  the  exhausting  and  often 
fruitless  ventures — these,  although  they  might  make 
large  draughts  upon  his  strength,  could  not  drain  his 
exuberant  spirits.  When  he  became  the  victim  of 
savages  and  suffered  torture  and  beheld  death  face  to 
face,  the  vitality  of  his  nature  would  not  admit  defeat. 
And  there  were  other  demands  on  his  abounding  life. 
He  knew  what  it  was  to  have  his  motives  misjudged, 
his  cherished  plans  set  aside,  his  limitations  criticised 
and  even  derided,  but  resentment  did  not  rankle  in  his 
soul.  When  he  met  with  defeat,  he  rose  above  it,  not 
because  he  was  insensible  to  chagrin  but  because  he 
had  confidence  in  what  he  might  still  accomplish,  and 
his  sanguine  nature  pictured  victory  before  him.  Al- 
though increasing  age  might  despoil  his  power  of 
endurance,  it  could  not  quench  his  ardour,  nor  make 
him  less  a  man.  When  infirmity  summoned  him  to 
quiet  life,  keen  as  was  his  disappointment  to  leave  the 
scenes  of  camp  and  battle,  he  was  still  the  soldier — 
intrepid,  hopeful,  brave  to  the  end. 

This  indomitable  hero,  of  generous  soul  and  sterling 
patriotism,  will  always  hold  high  place  among  Amer- 
ican men  of  energy. 


1 

g^isjfe Hi 

APPENDIX    I 

PORTRAITS   OF   ISRAEL   PUTNAM 

The  principal  portraits  of  Putnam  are  these  : 

i.  A  mezzotint  engraving,  folio  size,  issued  by  a  London 
publisher  in  1775,  which  represents  the  General  in  uniform, 
standing,  and  looking  toward  the  right,  his  right  elbow  resting 
on  the  muzzle  of  a  cannon,  his  left  hand  on  his  waist,  and  in  the 
background  a  battery  of  cannon  firing.  This  engraving  has 
the  full  title  : 

"  Israel  Putnam,  Esq.,  Major  General  of  the  Connecticut 
Forces  and  Commander  in  Chief  at  the  Engagement  on 
Buncker's  Hill,  near  Boston,  17th  June,  1775. 

J.  Wilkinson,  Pinx. 

London,  published  as  the  Act  directs,  9th  September, 

x775>  by  C.  Shepherd,  London." 

This  portrait  has  been  reproduced  in  J.  C.  Smith's  British 
Mezzotint  Portraits,  p.  1716.  It  has  been  copied  in  America, 
England,  Germany,  and  France. 

2.  A  quaint  picture  of  Putnam  on  a  white  horse  in  an  Ameri- 
can engraving  by  B.  Romanes,  entitled,  "An  exact  view  of  the 
late  battle  at  Charlestown,  June  17,  1775."  It  was  published, 
in  1775,  on  a  sheet  twenty  inches  by  twelve  in  size.  It  ap- 
peared, in  a  reduced  form,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of 
Philadelphia,  in  1775,  and  was  reproduced  in  1875  in  Frothing- 
ham's  Centennial  edition  of  The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  in 
the  newspapers  at  the  time  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Centennial 
Celebration. 

3.  An  engraving  in  Murray's  Impartial  History  of  the  War 
in  America,  published  at  Newcastle  upon  Tyne,  England,  in 
1780.     This  portrait  of  Putnam  was  "  drawn  from  life,"  but  is 

421 


422  Israel  Putnam 

really  an  effort  of  the  artist's  imagination.  This  may  be  also 
said  of  another  picture,  a  full-length  figure,  representing  Put- 
nam, which  was  engraved  by  Roberts,  London,  for  Bernard's 
History  of  England. 

4.  A  pencil  sketch  of  Putnam  from  life,  by  Col.  John  Trumbull, 
which  was  inherited  by  the  late  Professor  Benjamin  Silliman, 
of  Yale  University,  and  which  is  now  owned  by  the  Putnam 
Phalanx,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  This  is  the  most  accurate  like- 
ness of  the  General,  and  was  used  by  Trumbull  in  representing 
Putnam  in  the  well-known  painting,  "The  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill."  In  that  picture  Putnam  is  seen  on  the  left  in  the  rear, 
waving  his  sword.  Trumbull's  portrait  of  Putnam  has  been 
engraved  by  Hall,  Gimbrede,  Perine,  Burt,  and  others  ;  notably 
by  W.  Humphreys  for  the  National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Dis- 
tinguished Americans.  A  painting  of  Putnam  by  H.  I.  Thomp- 
son, after  the  pencil  sketch  by  Trumbull,  is  in  the  State  Capitol 
at  Hartford,  Conn.  A  painting  by  Alonzo  Chappel,  which  rep- 
resents Putnam  on  horseback,  was  engraved  for  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery  of  Eminent  Americans. 


APPENDIX    II 

THE   COMMAND  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF   BUNKER   HII.I, 

The  following  bibliography  relating  to  the  command  in  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  was  prepared  by  the  late  Justin  Winsor 
for  the  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  vi., 
pp.  190-191  : 

"The  question  of  who  commanded  during  the  day  has  been 
the  subject  of  continued  controversy,  arising  from  the  too 
large  claims  of  partisans.  .  .  The  discussion  of  the  claims  of 
Putnam  and  Prescott  has  resulted  in  a  large  number  of  mono- 
graphs, and  has  formed  a  particular  feature  in  many  of  the 
general  accounts  of  the  battle.    .     . 

"  The  earliest  general  narrative  to  give  the  command  to 
Prescott  was  Gordon's,  which  followed  closely  the  account  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  this  was  printed  in  1788.  The 
Life  of  Putnam,  by  Humphreys,  was  published  in  1788,  while 
Putnam  was  still  living,  and  makes  no  mention  of  his  having 
the  command  ;  but  the  Rev.  Josiah  Whitney,  in  1790,  in  a  note 
to  a  sermon  preached  upon  the  death  of  Putnam,  took  excep- 
tion to  this  oversight  (Stevens's  Hist.  Coll.,  i.,  no.  685).  In  1809, 
Eliot,  in  his  Biographical  Dictionary,  represents  Prescott  as 
commanding  at  the  redoubt  and  Stark  at  the  rail  fence.  When 
General  Wilkinson's  Memoirs  were  published,  in  1816  (reviewed 
in  the  North  Amer.  Rev.,  Nov.,  181 7),  the  conduct  of  Putnam  on 
that  day  was  represented  in  no  favourable  light  ;  and  General 
Henry  Dearborn,  who  was  with  Stark  at  the  rail  fence,  as- 
serted that  Putnam  remained  inactive  in  the  rear.  It  is  also 
significant  that  Major  Thompson  Maxwell,  who  was  with 
Reed's  regiment  at  the  rail  fence,  also  asserted  that  Prescott 
commanded  (Essex  Inst.  Hist.   Coll.,  vol.  vii.;  N.  E.  Hist. 

423 


424  Israel  Putnam 

and  Geneal.  Reg.,  Jan.,  1868,  p.  57).  Dearborn's  statement 
was  made  in  a  paper  in  the  Portfolio  (March,  1818),  which  is 
reprinted  in  the  Hist.  Mag.,  August,  1864,  and  June,  1868 
(Dawson,  p.  402).  It  was  printed  also  separately  at  the  time  in 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  (1818),  as  An  Account  of  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  with  De  Berniere's  map  corrected  by  General 
Dearborn  (16  pp.).  Colonel  Daniel  Putnam  replied  in  the 
Portfolio  (May,  18] 8),  with  numerous  depositions  (all  reprinted 
by  Dawson,  p.  407),  which  was  issued  separately  as  A  letter  to 
Maj.-Gen.  Dearborn,  repelling  his  unprovoked  attack  on  the 
character  of  the  late  Maj .-General  Putnam,  and  containing 
some  anecdotes  relating  to  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  not  gen- 
erally known  (Philadelphia,  1818.)  Both  tracts  were  reprinted 
as  an  Account  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  by  H.  Dearborn, 
Major-General  of  the  United  States  Army  ;  with  a  letter  to 
Major-General  Dearborn,  repelling  his  unprovoked  attack  on 
the  character  of  the  late  Maj.-Gen.  Israel  Putnam  by  Daniel 
Putnam,  Esq.  (Boston  :  Munroe  &  Francis,  1818).  Each  docu- 
ment is  paged  separately,  and  the  last  has  a  separate  title. 
Dearborn  replied  in  the  Boston  Patriot  (June  13,  1818),  with 
depositions,  all  of  which  are  in  Dawson,  p.  414.  See  account 
of  General  Dearborn,  by  Daniel  Goodwin,  Jr.,  in  the  Chicago 
Hist.  Soc.  Proc.  In  July,  1818,  Daniel  Webster,  in  the  North 
Amer.  Rev.,  vindicated  Putnam,  but  claimed  for  Prescott  as 
much  of  a  general  command  during  the  day  as  any  one  had, 
which  claim  he  held  to  be  established  by  Prescott's  making  his 
report  to  Ward  at  Cambridge  when  it  was  over.  (Cf.  Mass. 
Hist.  Soc.  Proc,  June,  1858).  John  Lowell  offered  counter- 
depositions  in  the  Columbian  Centinel  (July  4  and  15,  1818), 
again  reprinted  in  Dawson,  p.  423.  In  October,  181 8,  Col. 
Samuel  Swett  appended  an  Historical  and  Topographical 
Sketch  of  Bunker  Hill  Battle  to  a  new  edition  of  Humphreys's 
Life  of  Putnam.  In  the  Boston  Patriot,  Nov.  17,  1818,  D. 
L.  Child  claimed  that  Putnam  was  not  in  the  battle,  and  he 
published  separately  An  Enquiry  into  the  Conduct  of  Gen. 
Putnam  (Boston,  1819).  In  1825,  Swett  enlarged  his  text  and 
published  it  as  a  History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hi.' I  (Boston, 
1825),  followed  by  Notes  to  his  Sketch  in  Dec,  1825.  His 
history  passed  to  a  second  edition  as  a  History  of  the  Bunker 


Appendix  425 

Hill  Battle,  with  a  plan.  By  S.  Swell.  Second  Edition, 
much  enlarged  with  new  information  derived  from  the 
surviving  soldiers  present  at  the  celebration  on  the  17th  June 
last,  and  notes  (Boston,  1826).  A  third  appeared  iu  1827.  (Cf. 
Sparks  in  North  Amer.  Rev.,  vol.  xxii.)  A  new  advocate  for 
Putnam  appeared  in  Alden  Bradford's  Particular  Account  of 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  or  Breed's  Hill,  by  a  Citizen  of  Boston 
(two  editions,  Boston,  1825,  and  since  reprinted) ;  while  Daniel 
Putnam  during  the  same  year  recapitulated  his  views  in  a  com- 
munication to  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association  {Conn. 
Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  vol.  i.).  A  summary  of  this  Putnam-Dearborn 
controversy  is  given  in  G.  W.  Warren's  History  of  the  Bu)iker 
Hill  Monument  Association. 

"  The  dispute  now  remained  dormant  until  1831,  when  George 
E.  Ellis  delivered  an  oration  at  Charlestown,  and  then,  and  in 
his  Sketches  of  Bunker  Hill  Battle,  with  illustrative  documents 
(Charlestown,  1843),  ne  presented  at  fuller  length  than  had  been 
before  done  the  claims  of  Prescott  to  be  considered  the  com- 
mander. This  led  to  a  criticism  and  rejoinder  by  Swett  and 
Ellis  in  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser.  See  Judge  Prescott's 
letter  to  Dr.  Ellis  in  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc.  (iv.,  76),  and  another 
to  Col.  Swett  (xiv.,  78.  Cf.  Memoir  of  Swett  and  a  list  of  his 
publications  in  the  N .  E.  Hist,  and  Geneal.  Reg.,  1867,  p.  374). 
In  1843,  John  Fellows,  in  The  Veil  Removed  ;  or,  Reflections  on 
David  Humphreys' s  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Israel  Putnam  ;  also 
notices  of  Oliver  W.  B.  Peabody's  Life  of  the  same  ;  S.  Swell's 
Sketch  of  Bunker  Hill,  etc.  (New  York,  1843),  ranged  him- 
self among  the  detractors  of  Putnam. 

"  In  1849,  the  question  was  again  elaborately  examined  in 
Vrothmgham's  Siege  of  Boston  (p.  159,  etc.),  favouring  Prescott, 
which  produced  Swett's  Who  was  the  Commander  at  Bunker 
Hill?  (Boston,  1850),  and  Frothingham's  rejoinder,  The  Com- 
mand in  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  (Boston,  1850).  Cf.  also 
the  Report  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  on  a  monument  to 
Col.  Prescott  (1852).  In  1853,  Irving  favoured  Prescott  ( Wash- 
ington, vol.  i.).  In  1855,  L-  Grosvenor,  iu  an  address  before 
the  descendants  of  Putnam,  reiterated  that  general's  claims. 
In  1857,  Barry  {Hist,  of  Mass.,  vol.  iii.,  39),  gave  to  Prescott 
the  command  in  the  redoubt,  and  to  Putnam  a  general  direction 


426  Israel  Putnam 

outside  the  redoubt.  In  1858,  Bancroft  in  his  History  (vol. 
vii.)  took  the  view  substantially  that  Prescott  commanded  at 
the  redoubt  and  sent  out  the  party  which  in  the  beginning  pro- 
tected his  flank  towards  the  Mystic,  but  when  Stark,  with  his 
New  Hampshire  men,  came  up  to  strengthen  that  party,  his 
authority  was  generally  recognised  and  he  held  the  rail  fence 
there  as  long  as  he  could  to  cover  the  retreat  of  Prescott's  men 
from  the  redoubt  ;  that  Putnam,  the  ranking  officer  on  the 
field,  Warren  having  disclaimed  all  right  to  command,  with- 
drew men  with  intrenching  tools  from  Prescott,  and  planned 
to  throw  up  earthworks  on  the  higher  eminence,  now  known 
as  Bunker  Hill  proper,  and  near  the  end  of  the  retreat  he  as- 
sumed a  general  command,  and  directed  the  fortifying  of  Pros- 
pect Hill.  In  1859,  A.  C.  Griswold,  as  "Selah,"  of  the 
Hartford  Post,  had  a  controversy  with  H.  B.  Dawson,  who 
exceeded  others  in  his  denunciation  of  Putnam,  and  this  cor- 
respondence was  printed  as  Parts  6  and  n  of  Dawson's  Glean- 
ings from  the  Harvest-field  of  American  History  (Morrisania, 
1860-63),  with  the  distinctive  title  Major-General  Putnam.  In 
i860,  the  Hon.  H.  C.  Deming  published  an  address  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  presentation  of  Putnam's  sword  to  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society. 

"The  question  of  the  command  was  again  discussed  at  the 
season  of  the  Centennial  of  1875.  The  chief  papers  in  favour  of 
Putnam  were  by  I.  N.  Tarbox  in  the  New  York  Herald  (June  12 
and  14),  in  the  New  Englander  (April,  1876),  and  in  his  Life 
of  Putnam  ;  by  S.  A.  Drake  in  his  General  Israel  Putnam,  the 
Commander  at  Bunker  Hill ;  by  W.  W.  Wheildon  in  his  let- 
ters to  the  New  York  Herald  (June  16  and  17),  and  in  his  New 
History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  General  Charles  Devens's 
oration  in  The  Celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  (Boston,  1875),  did  not  extend  Pres- 
cott's command  beyond  the  redoubt  as  was  done,  however,  in 
Francis  J.  Parker's  Colonel  Wm.  Prescott,  the  Commander  in 
the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  (Boston,  1875),  and  his  paper? 
"Could  General  Putnam  Command  at  Bunker's  Hill?"  in 
N.  E.  Hist,  and  Geneal.  Reg.  (Oct.,  1877,  p.  403).  Dur- 
ing the  same  year,  Dr.  George  E.  KHis  recast  the  material  of 
his  earlier  book,  in   his   History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker's 


Appendix 


427 


[Breed's]  Hill  (Boston,  1875,  in  i6mo.  and  8vo.,  the  latter  re- 
vised). The  Centennial  period  produced  also  various  magazine 
articles,  the  most  important  of  which  are  one  by  H.  E.  Scudder 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  July,  1875  ;  one  by  Launce  Poyutz,  in 
the  Galaxy,  July,  1875  ;  one  by  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood  in  Harper's 
Monthly,  July,  1875  ;  and  those  which  later  constituted  a 
brochure,  One  Hundred  Years  Ago,  by  Edward  E.  Hale." 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  Gen.  James,  56, 

74-77,  80-83,  86,  87,  97,  98, 

103,  104 
Abercrombie,     Lieut. -Co  1. 

James,  Jr.,  236 
Adams,  John,  158 
Adams,  Samuel,  150,  177,  192 
Albemarle,  Earl  of,  118,  120- 

123 
Allyn,  Joseph  Pratt,  415 
Amherst,    Maj.-Gen.  Jeffrey, 

74,  102-105,  107-115 
Andrews,  John,  184 
Arnold,    Benedict,    266,    280, 

344,  403 
Atlee,  Colonel,  298 
Auchmuty,  Rev.  Samuel,  164 
Avery,  Elisha,  415 
Avery,  Rev.  Ephraim,  155 
Avery,  Rev.  Ephraim,  Jr.,  155 


B 


Babcock,  Col.  Henry,  264 
Bancroft,  Capt.  Ebenezer,  222 
Bancroft,  George,  179,  303 
Barlow,  Joel,  384 
Barrell,  William,  184 
Bartlett,  Rev.  Mr.,  386 
Belcher,    Gov.  Jonathan,    10, 

11 
Belknap,    Rev.    Jeremy,    259, 

260 


Bell,  General,  323 
Bell,  Joseph,  208 
Borland,  John,  197 
Bosworth,  Mrs.  Mary  Putnam, 

328 
Bouquet,  Col.  Henry,  131,  143 
Bourlamaque,    Chevalier    de, 

104 
Braddock,  Gen.  Edward,  17 
Bradstreet,   Lieut. -Col.   John, 

80,  82,  97,  131-139.  142-146 
Brevoort,  Carson,  301 
Brewer,  James,  207 
Bridge,    Col.    Ebenezer,    215, 

229 
Brooks,  A.  E.,  415 
Brooks,  Maj.  John,  207,  221 
Bruce,  Major,  255 
Burbeck,  Henry,  220 
Burgoyne,  Gen.  John,  212,  307, 

346,  348,  349,  35i,  352,  354, 

356,  358-360,  362 
Burke,  Edmund,  261 
Burnham,  Oliver,  314 
Burr,  Aaron,  280,  286,  295,  309, 

3io,  353 
Bush, John,  52 
Bushnell,  David,  283,  284 


Cadwalader,  Brig.-Gen.  John, 

333,  334 
Caesar  Augustus,  208 
Calleuder,    Capt.    John,    224, 

228,  229 


429 


430 


Index 


Campbell,  Alexander,  207 
Campbell,  David,  55 
Carpenter,  Captain,  298 
Carrington,    Gen.    Henry  B., 

244,  302 
Chester,  Capt.  John,  207,  268, 

3i8 
Chester,  Governor,    167,    168, 

171 
Church,    Dr.    Benjamin,    258, 

259 
Clark,  Lieutenant,  219 
Clark,  Rev.  Peter,  1 
Clarke,  Captain,  187 
Cleveland,  Capt.  Aaron,  182, 

186-190 
Cleveland,  Josiah,  217 
Clinton,    Gov.    George,    289, 

316,  317,  352,  356,  358,  363- 

365,  369-371 
Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  212,  235, 

285,  299,  347,  350,  354,  360, 

367,  378,  395,  399 
Clinton,  Gen.  James,  307,  356, 

37o 
Cornwallis,    Lord,     285,    299, 

301,  327,  336 
Crary,      Lieutenant  -  Colonel, 

3M 
Cregier,  Capt.  Thomas,  277 
"Cudge,"  7 
Cutter,  William,  38,   157,  250, 

264,  270,  416 


Dalzell,  Captain,  78,  87-89 
Dana,  Capt.  James,  252 
Dana,  John  Winchester,  156 
Dana,  Judge  Judah,  29 
Davies,  Rev.  Thomas  F.,  387 
Dawson,  Henry  B.,  303 
Deane,    Silas,    183,    185,    248, 

249,  253,  332 
De  Heister,  General,  300 
De  Kalb,  Baron,  381 
De  Lancey,  Col.  James,  366 
De  Lancey,  Gen.  Oliver,  366 
"Dick,"  127,  408 


Dickinson,  General,  361,  366 
Dickson,  William,  237 
Dieskau,  Baron,  22-25,  47,  75 
Doolittle,  Colonel,  199 
Drake,  Major,  140 
Drake,  Samuel  Adams,  254 
Dresser,  Jonathan,  154,  155 
Dunbar,  Major,  207 
Durkee,  Capt.  John,  182 
Durkee,  Robert,  36-39,  59 
Dwight,    Rev.   Timothy,  414, 

416 
Dyer,  Maj.  Ebenezer,  42,  43 
Dyer,  Col.  John,  42 


E 


Enos,  Capt.  Roger,  163,  166 
Eustis,  Surgeon  William,  280 


Fellows,  Brig.-Gen.  John,  306, 

307 
Fellows,  John,  author  of  The 

Veil  Removed,  38 
Field,  Thomas  W.,  303 
Fiske,  John,  109,  302 
Fitch,  Governor,  20,  153 
Fletcher,  Captain,  36-38 
Forbes,  Brig.-Gen.  John,  74 
Forbes,  Lieutenant,  121 
Ford,  Capt.  John,  229 
Ford,  Worthington  Chauncey, 

253 
Fort    Putnam,    Long    Island, 

295 
Fort  Putuam,  West  Point,  373, 

374 
Foster,  Captain,  208,  250 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  259,  343 
Frink,  Lucy,  409 
Frost,  Samuel,  208 
Frye,  Col.  James,  215 
Fuller,  Jonathan,  56 


Gaffield,  Benjamin,  99 


Index 


43i 


Gage,  Gen.  Thomas,  108,  130, 
131,  143,  178,  181,  185,  191, 
200,  201,  205,  206,  208,  212, 

255 
Gaine,  Mr.,  186,  188 
Gardiner,  Colonel,  235 
Gardiner,  Hannah,  155,  156 
Gardiner,  John,  155 
Gardiner,  Septimus,  155,  156, 

357 
Gates,  Gen.  Horatio,  253,  257, 
282,  290,  291,  333,  356,  358- 
360,  362,  363,  369,  378,  380, 
.381 
Gates,  Mrs.  Horatio,  257 
George  III.,  King,   117,   150, 

154,  173 
Gerhardt,  Karl,  416 
Gibbs,  Capt.  Caleb,  279 
Giddings,  Captain,  89 
Gladwyn,  Major,  130,  131,  136 
Glover,  General,  346,  365 
Goodrich,    Captain,    164,   167, 

168 
Gordon,  William,  158,  192 
Graham,  Rev.  John,  123-126 
Grant,  Gen.  James,  298,  299 
Grant,  Noah,  36,  39,  43 
Gray,  Samuel,  217,  218 
Greene,  Gen.  Nathanael,  247, 

253,  277,  289,  294,  3*3-316, 

319,  323-327,  345,  383,  384, 

403 
Gridley,    Col.    Richard,    215, 

217,  218,  268 
Gridley,    Capt.   Samuel,    215, 

223,  '225,  228 
Griffin,  Colonel,  333 
Griffith,  Colonel,  315 
Grosvenor,  Rev.  Iv.,  408,  409 
Grosvenor,   L,emuel   Putnam, 

415 
Grout,  Hilkiah,  99 

H 

Haldimand,    Col.    Frederick, 

107,  167 
Hallowell,  Benjamin,  190 


Hamilton,      Alexander,     321, 

361-365,  368,  369 
Hamilton,  Lieutenant,  207 
Hancock,  John,  192,  275,  280 
Hand,  Colonel,  323 
Hardy,  Sir  Charles,  33 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  259 
Harvey,  Private,  245 
Haskell,  Caleb,  199 
Hathorne,  Elizabeth,  3 
Hathorne,  William,  3,  4 
Haviland,  William,  Brig.-Gen., 

71,  72,  107,  113 
Hawke,  Samuel,  274 
Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  4 
Hay  ward,  Ensign,  55 
Heath,      Maj.-Gen.    William, 

222,  247,  261,  263,  277,  289, 

293,  307,  320,  323,  34i,  345, 

396,  406 
Hendrick,  Chief,  19,  22,  23 
Henry,  Patrick,  150 
Henshaw,  Col.  William,  195 
Herkimer,  General,  352 
Hewes,  James,  207 
Hickey,  Thomas,  281 
Hill,  Captain,  189 
Hilton,  John,  207 
Hoar,  George  F.,  373 
Hobby,  Capt.  John,  390 
Holdeu,  John,  233 
Holdridge,  Colonel,  393 
Holland,  Joseph,  175,  177 
Holmes,  Abiel,  92 
Holmes,  Capt.  David,  87,  96 
Holyoke,  Ann,  2 
Hosmer,  Capt.  Titus,  183,  388, 

389 
Howe,  Caleb,  99 
Howe,  Mrs.  Jemima,  99,  100 
Howe,  Lord,  71,  75-79,  233,  239 
Howe,  Admiral  Richard,  281, 

284,  290 
Howe,  Gen.  William,  212,  233, 
235,  269-271,  273,  281,  288, 
29°,  299,  302,  303,  305,  307, 
310,  322,  324,  337,  344,  346, 
348,  349,  352,  353,  36o,  361, 
364,  378 


432 


Index 


Hoyt,  Col.  H.  W.  R.,  393 

Humphreys,  Col.  David,  6,  15, 
35,  38,  56,  57,  60-63,  66,  71, 
78-80,  87,  89,  90,  92-100,111, 
112,  114,  119,  153,  155,  178, 
179,  200,  283,  310,  311,  340, 
383,  398-403,  4io,  411,  417 

Hunt,  Captain,  30,  31 

Huntington,  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, 374,  375 

Huntington,     Col.    Jedediah, 

195 
Hutchinson,  Catharine,  409 


Ingersoll,  Jared,  152 
Inman,  Ralph,  213,  254 
Inman,  Mrs.  Ralph,  213,  216, 

239,  244 
Irving,  Washington,  147,  241, 

242 

J 

James,  Thomas,  169-171 
Johnson,  Philip,  227 
Johnson,  Gen.  William,  20-26, 

29,  33,  36,  37,  68,  106,  132 
Johnston,  Prof.  Henry  P.,  303, 

304,  313 
Jones,  Edward,  385,  386 
Jones,  Samuel,  232 

K 

Kemp,  Reuben,  227,  230 
Keys,  Captain,  186,  187 
King,  Capt.  Thomas,  141,  142 
Knapp,  Israel,  390 
Knowlton,  Col.  Thomas,  211, 
212,  215,  223,  227,  237,  265, 

266,  312-315,  317 

Knox,      Maj.-Gen.      Henry, 

267,  268,  289,  309,  325,  345 
Kosciusko,  328,  373 


La  Corne,  86,  87 


Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  392 
Laidie,    Rev.    Dr.    Archibald, 

165 
Lally,  Frederick,  350 
Langdon,   Pres.  Samuel,  217, 

246 
Langy,  76,  77 

Larned,  Ellen  D.,  155,  156,  252 
Learned,  Captain,  61,  62 
Learned,  Col.  Ebeuezer,  272 
Ledlie,  Hugh,  153 
Lee,    Maj.-Gen.  Charles,  247, 

249,  253,  260,  261,  274,  275, 

319,  320,  323,  327,  333,  362, 

378,  379 
Leitch,  Major,  314,  315,  317 
Leonard,  Rev.  Mr.,  251 
Levis,  Due  de,  50,  81 
Lincoln,  Gen.  Benjamin,  395 
Little,  Captain,  62 
Livingston,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  165 
Livingston,  Philip,  306 
Livingston,    Chancellor   Rob- 
ert R.,  372,  374 
Livingston,  Gov.  William,  285, 

286,  331 
Loring,  Captain,  108,  no 
Lossing,  B.  J.,  57,  in,  393 
Loudoun,  Lord,  50,  51,  54,  65, 

71 
Lovell,  James,  286 
Lyman,    Maj.-Gen.    Phineas, 

20,  25,  44,  45,  55,  56,  60,  63, 

116,  118,  125,  162 
Lyman,   Thaddeus,    163,    169, 

170 
Lynch,  Thomas,  259 

M 

McDougall,   Gen.   Alexander, 
306,  321,  345,  346,  348,  349, 
353,  373-375,  378,  383,  397 
McPhersou,  Captain,  340,  341 
Maddison,      Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel, 181 
Magaw,  Col.  Robert,  324 
Malbone,   Col.    Godfrey,    148, 
149,  J59,  l6o>  l84,  409 


Index 


433 


Mandeville,  John,  345 
Manly,  Captain,  262 
Mante,  Thomas,  no,  137 
Marcy,  Samuel,  207 
Marin,  59,  62,  88,  91,  94,  97 
Marshall,  John,  302 
Matthews,  Daniel,  56 
Maxwell,  Thompson,  220 
Maynard,  Captain,  89 
Mead,  Gen.  Ebenezer,  389 
Meginiss,  Captain,  61 
Mercer,  Gen.  Hugh,  325,  326, 

338 
Mifflin,    Gen.    Thomas,    262, 

289,  290,  306,  323,  328,  329, 

331,  332 
Miles,  Colonel,  299 
Moncrieffe,    Maj.  James,   207, 

208,  255,  285,  286 
Moncrieffe,  Margaret,  285-289 
Monro,  Colonel,  66-69 
Montague,  Captain,  350 
Montcalm,  Marquis  de,  47,  50, 

51,  53,  62,  65,  68-70,  80,  81, 

86,  96,  106 
Montgomery,    Gen.    Richard, 

247,  266 
Montour,  Captain,  141 
Montresor,  Col.  James,  57,  60, 

61,  67-69,  132 
Montresor,  Lieut.  John,   131- 

139,  I44-H6,  201 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  378 
Morris,  Robert,  332 
Morris,  Capt.  Thomas,  141 
Moylan,    Col.    Stephen,    262, 

265 
Muhlenberg,  Brig.-Gen.  Peter, 

379.  38o,  382 
Munsell,  Hezekiah,  309 
Murray,  Gen.  James,  107,  113 
Murray,  Lindley,  311 
Murray,  Robert,  311 
Murray,  Mrs.  Robert,  311 

N 

Neilson,  Colonel,  342 
Newell,  Chaplain,  21 

28 


Niles,  Rev.  Samuel,  63,  64 
Nixon,   Gen.  John,   289,    295, 

314,397. 
Nixon,    Lieut. -Col.     Thomas, 

289 
North,  Lord,  173 


() 


Oliver,    Lieutenant-Governor, 

182 
Olmstead,  James,  386 
Otis,  James,  150 


Paine,  Seth,  158 
Palmer,  Colonel,  210 
Palmer,  Edmund,  350,  351 
Parkman,  Francis,  28,  80,  82, 

83,  89,  90 
Parks,  Lieutenant,  125 
Parris,  Rev.  Samuel,  2 
Parry,  Thomas,  207 
Parsons,  Lieutenant,  59 
Parsons,    Brig.-Gen.    Samuel 

Holden,  297,   299,  306,  307, 

346,  356,  357,  359,  367,  37o, 

372,  373,  383,  397 
Partridge,  Colonel,  89 
Paterson,     Brig.-Gen.     John, 

360,  365 
Patterson,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 

286 
Payson,    Lieut. -Col.    Nathan, 

116 
Pearce,  Joseph,  222 
Peck,  John,  207 
Percy,  Lord,  178,  270,  299 
Perley,  Capt.  Thomas,  5 
Peters,  Captain,  141,  143 
Peters,  Rev.  Samuel,  15 
Pigot,  General,  235 
Pitcairn,  Major,  192 
Pocock,  Admiral  Sir  George, 

118 
Pomeroy,    Seth,    23-25,     226, 

247 
Pontiac,  129,  130,  136,  139,  141, 

142,  146 


434 


Index 


Pope,  Joseph,  8 

Pope,  Joseph,  Jr.,  9-1 1 

Pope,  Mrs.  Mehitable,  8 

Porter,  Israel,  1,  3 

Porter,  John,  3 

Porter,  Lieut.  Samuel,  54,  55 

Potter,  Lieutenant,  207 

Pouch ot,  Captain,  no 

Prescott,  Col.  William,  200, 
208,  210,  214,  215,  217,  220, 
222,  226,  231,  236,  237,  240, 
241,  289 

Preston,  Daniel,  208 

Price,  Ezekiel,  204 

Putnam,  Rev.  A.  P.,  D.D., 
240 

Putnam,  Anne,  4 

Putnam,  Daniel,  second  son  of 
Israel  Putnam,  18,  19,  94, 
101,  106 

Putnam,  Daniel,  third  son  of 
Israel  Putnam,  18,  106,  156, 
160,  163,  171,  191-193,  197- 
199,  204,  208-211,  213,  214, 
216,  225,  226,  234,  239,  244, 

256,  257,  334,  383,  398,  399, 
401,  409,  415 

Putnam,  David,  4,  5,  7,  9,  16 
Putnam,  Mrs.  Deborah  Loth- 
rop  (Gardiner),  155,  156,  158, 

257,  258,  286,  287,  307,  357- 

359,  369 
Putnam,    Deacon  Edward,   3, 

55,56 
Putnam,  Elisha,  55 
Putnam,    Elizabeth,  sister  of 

Israel  Putnam,  4 
Putnam,   Elizabeth,  daughter 

of  Israel  Putnam,  19,  147 
Putnam,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Por- 
ter), 1-5 
Putnam,     Eunice,     sister    of 

Israel  Putnam,  4 
Putnam,  Eunice,  daughter  of 

Israel  Putnam,  42,  156,  401 
Putnam,  Gideon,  15 
Putnam,  Hannah,  19,  156 
Putnam,  Mrs.  Hannah  (Pope), 

8,18,  19,42,  100,101,147,155 


Putnam,  Huldah,  4 

Putnam,  Israel  :  birth,  1;  bap- 
tism, i  ;  ancestors,  2-4  ; 
father,  2,  3  ;  mother,  3-5  ; 
brothers  and  sisters,  4,  5  ; 
early  adventures,  5-7 ;  a 
youthful  farmer,  7  ;  mar- 
riage, 8  ;  his  first  child,  8 ; 
purchases  a  Connecticut 
farm,  9,  10 ;  removes  from 
Salem  Village,  10  ;  his  in- 
dustry and  success,  n;  wolf- 
hunt,  11-15  ;  visits  Salem 
Village,  16 ;  prosperous 
years,  16,  18;  his  family,  18, 
19  ;  enlists  in  French  and 
Indian  War,  18 ;  in  Crown 
Point  expedition,  19-21  ;  in 
battle  of  Lake  George,  22-25; 
receives  commission  as  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  20,  26 ;  be- 
comes a  ranger,  26-29;  qual- 
ifications, 29,  30 ;  scouting 
expedition  to  Ticonderoga, 
30-33;  official  report,  31,  32; 
expedition  to  Crown  Point, 
33-36 ;  saves  Rogers's  life, 
35;  perilous  experiences, 
36-40 ;  reconnoitres  near 
South  Bay,  40  ;  on  winter 
duty,  41 ;  attempts  to  relieve 
Dyer,  42-43  ;  returns  home, 
43;  rewarded  by  the  General 
Assembly,  43 ;  appointed 
captain,  44;  at  Fort  Edward, 
45  ;  kills  an  Indian,  45,  46  ; 
takes  a  prisoner,  46,  47;  pur- 
sues French  plunderers,  48  ; 
encounters  the  enemy,  48- 
50  ;  reconnoitres  Ticonder- 
oga, 51  ;  patrols  woods,  52  ; 
his  powder-horn,  52;  at  Fort 
Edward  in  1757,  54-56;  in 
moonlight  battle,  56-60;  re- 
pels attack  on  workmen,  61- 
64;  escorts  General  Webb  to 
Fort  William  Henry,  65 ; 
discovers  hostile  force  on 
Lake    George,    66 ;  ordered 


Index 


435 


Putnam  Israel— Continued. 
back  to  Fort  Edward,  66  ; 
hears  distant  bombardment, 
67-69  ;  visits  scene  of  mas- 
sacre, 70,  71;  again  on  rang- 
ing duty,  71  ;  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  Lord  Howe, 
71;  saves  Fort  Edward  from 
fire,  71,  72  ;  reconnoitres 
northward,  73  ;  returns  to 
Connecticut,  73  ;  appointed 
major,  74 ;  in  expedition 
against  Ticonderoga,  75-77  ; 
in  a  skirmish,  77,  78;  mourns 
death  of  Lord  Howe,  79; 
shows  kindness  to  wounded 
enemy,  79,  80 ;  renders  effi- 
cient aid  during  assault  on 
French  works,  81-83;  covers 
the  retreat,  83;  returns  with 
main  army  to  head  of  Lake 
George,  84 ;  escapes  down 
rapids  of  the  Hudson,  85, 
86;  in  Rogers's  party  against 
French  plunderers,  86,  87  ; 
surprised  by  an  ambuscade, 
88;  made  prisoner,  89  ;  tied 
to  a  tree,  90  ;  his  perilous 
position,  90,  91  ;  cruelly 
treated,  92;  led  into  a  forest 
to  be  burned  alive,  93  ;  res- 
cued, 94 ;  his  painful  night, 
95  ;  taken  to  Ticonderoga, 
95,  96;  in  presence  of  Mont- 
calm, 96  ;  sent  to  Montreal, 
96;  receives  sympathetic  at- 
tention from  Schuyler,  96, 
97  ;  transferred  to  Quebec, 
97;  exchanged,  97-99;  cares 
for  Howe  family  on  journey 
homeward,  99,  100;  his  glad 
reunion,  101  ;  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel,  102  ;  su- 
perintends work  of  Con- 
necticut regiment  near  Lake 
George,  103 ;  in  another  ex- 
pedition against  Ticonder- 
oga and  Crown  Point,  103- 
105  ;  assists  in  repairing  and 


rebuilding  the  captured 
forts,  105;  returns  home,  106; 
with  Amherst's  army  against 
Montreal,  107  ;  ingeniously 
disables  a  French  war-ship, 
108,  109 ;  his  novel  project 
for  the  capture  of  Fort  Levis, 
110-112;  on  the  dangerous 
passage  down  the  rapids  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  112,  113  ; 
rejoices  over  the  surrender 
of  Montreal,  114  ;  cordially 
greeted  by  his  former  cap- 
tor, 114;  again  at  home,  115; 
in  last  campaign  of  French 
and  Indian  War,  115  ;  on 
duty  at  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  116;  acting 
colonel  of  Connecticut  regi- 
ment in  expedition  against 
Havana,  118;  presence  of 
mind  in  storm  at  sea>  119  ; 
arrives  at  Havana,  120;  par- 
ticipates in  attack  on  Morro 
Castle,  121  ;  a  sharer  in  the 
prize  money,  122;  his  orderly 
book,  123  ;  interviewed  by 
Chaplain  Graham,  124;  goes 
into  country  to  buy  fresh 
provisions,  125;  embarks  for 
home,  126;  takes  "Dick," 
126,  127;  works  on  his  farm, 
127  ;  in  Bradstreet's  expedi- 
tion in  Pontiac's  War,  129- 
131;  meets  again  the  Indian 
chief,  132  ;  reaches  Fort  Ni- 
agara, 132,  133;  employed 
in  building  Fort  Erie,  133  ; 
protests  against  treaty  with 
Indian  deputies,  134;  arrives 
at  Fort  Detroit,  135,  136 ;  in 
charge  of  workmen  on  Isle 
au  Cochon,  136,  137  ;  em- 
barks with  Bradstreet's 
troops  for  Sandusky,  138 ; 
field  officer  for  the  picket, 
139  ;  writes  to  Major  Drake, 
140-143;  hardships  on  Lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario,   144-146  \ 


43^ 


Index 


Putnam  Israel — Continued. 
reaches  home,  146;  bereaved 
of  daughter  and  wife,  147  ; 
joins  the  Congregational 
Church,  148  ;  his  neighbour 
Malbone,  148,  149 ;  sym- 
pathises with  colonial  resist- 
ance of  the  Stamp  Act,  149, 
150 ;  a  leader  of"  Sons  of 
Liberty,  151  ;  his  accident, 
151  ;  interviews  Governor 
Fitch  at  Hartford,  153;  chair- 
man of  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence, 153 ;  represen- 
tative to  General  Assembly, 
154;  his  two  mishaps,  154, 
155  ;  second  marriage,  155  ; 
opens  a  tavern,  156-158 ; 
prominent  in  town  and  ec- 
clesiastical affairs,  158,  159; 
a  bell-ringer,  160,  161 ;  a 
member  of  the  Exploring 
Committee  of  Military  Ad- 
venturers, 162,  163 ;  leaves 
home,  163;  his  diary  at  New 
York  and  on  the  voyage  to 
Pensacola,  164-167;  explores 
the  Mississippi  as  far  north 
as  the  Yazoo,  168-171  ;  his 
voyage  homeward,  171,  172; 
sympathises  with  Massachu- 
setts patriots,  173-177;  goes 
to  Boston  with  letter  and 
flock  of  sheep,  177;  heartily 
welcomed,  177,  178;  inter- 
views British  officers,  178, 
I79  >  again  at  home,  180; 
aroused  by  report  of  a  Brit- 
ish incursion,  181,  182 ; 
alarms  the  country,  182-184; 
his  facetious  note  to  Mal- 
bone, 184;  learns  that  report 
is  exaggerated,  184;  criti- 
cised for  premature  energy, 
185,  186  ;  replies  in  an  open 
letter,  186-190  ;  prepares  for 
the  impending  war,  191;  re- 
ceives news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington,    192,    193  ;   con- 


sults with  Governor  Trum- 
bull, 193  ;  rides  to  Cam- 
bridge, 194 ;  writes  from 
Concord,  194;  at  a  council  of 
war,  195  ;  summoned  back 
to  Connecticut  for  his  ad- 
vice, 195  ;  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral, 196  ;  returns  to  Cam- 
bridge, 197;  his  headquarters, 
197;  his  popularity,  198;  his 
confidence  in  the  provin- 
cials, 198,  199  ;  an  aggres- 
sive officer,  199,  200;  spurns 
an  offer  from  General  Gage, 
200  ;  leads  a  bold  march  into 
Charlestown,  201  ;  in  a  skir- 
mish on  Noddle's  Island, 
202-205  :  appointed  major- 
general  by  the  Continental 
Congress,  205  ;  extolled  in 
newspapers  and  in  Trum- 
bull's M'Fingal,  205,  206; 
represents  military  author- 
ity in  an  exchange  of 
prisoners,  206-208  ;  leads 
another  bold  march,  209  ; 
his  personal  eccentricities, 
209 ;  favours  a  redoubt  on 
Bunker  Hill,  210-212;  sends 
his  son  Daniel  to  Inman 
homestead,  213,  216;  accom- 
panies detachment  to  the 
Charlestown  Heights,  214- 
217;  his  part  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  in  securing  rein- 
forcements, in  urging  men 
to  the  front,  and  in  keeping 
them  steady  during  the  at- 
tacks by  the  British,  218- 
235  ;  tries  to  intrench  the 
second  eminence,  221,  222, 
235  ;  his  interview  with 
Warren,  225,  226;  sees  Pom- 
eroy,  226 ;  saves  Major 
Small's  life,  233,  234 ;  re- 
membered by  the  dying 
Abercrombie,  236  ;  tries  to 
force  back  the  retreating 
provincials,    238 ;    makes   a 


Index 


437 


Putnam  Israel — Continued. 
bold  stand  alone,  238;  brings 
the  men  to  a  halt  on  Winter 
and  Prospect  Hills,  238,  239; 
learns  of  Warren's  death, 
239  ;  his  services  as  chief 
commander  in  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  240,  241  ;  de- 
scribed by  Irving,  241,  242; 
fortifies  Prospect  Hill,  243- 
245 ;  rebukes  dilatory  pri- 
vate, 245  ;  wins  regards  of 
Washington,  246,  247;  has 
trouble  with  Spencer,  247- 
249;  receives  commission  as 
major-general,  248 ;  praised 
by  Deane  and  Webb,  248, 
249;  anecdotes,  250,  251; 
present  at  flag-raising,  251, 
252  ;  in  command  of  centre 
division  of  army,  253;  head- 
quarters at  Inman  house, 
254 ;  has  an  interview  with 
Small,  254 ;  sends  present 
of  provisions  to  British  offi- 
cers, 255;  his  toast  at  dinner, 
256,  257  ;  resents   treatment 

,  received  by  Mrs.  Putnam, 
257;  arrests  woman  implica- 
ted in  treasonable  plans  of 
Dr.  Church,  258,  259;  meets 
well-known  patriots,  259 ; 
characterised  by  Belknap, 
259,  260 ;  mentioned  by 
Burke,  261  ;  breaks  ground 
on  Cobble  Hill  for  "Put- 
nam's impregnable  fort- 
ress," 261,  262;  christens  a 
captured  mortar,  262  ;  forti- 
fies Lech  mere's  Point,  263  ; 
warns  his  son  against  can- 
non-balls, 264 ;  quells  a 
mutiny,  264;  ingeniously  ob- 
tains extracannon-balls,  265; 
anxious  for  more  powder, 
265 ;  watches  his  men  de- 
stroy houses  in  Charlestown, 
266;  characterised  by  Wash- 
ington,    267  ;     reconnoitres 


Dorchester  Heights,  268 ; 
gives  kindly  assistance  to 
lame  engineer,  268;  fired  at 
by  Cambridge  sentinel,  268; 
impatient  for  action  against 
the  British,  270  ;  commands 
detachment  for  proposed 
attack  on  Boston, 270;  enters 
Boston  after  the  evacuation, 
272  ;  on  guard  against  the 
return  of  the  enemy,  273  ; 
in  chief  command  at  New 
York  City,  274  ;  his  aggres- 
sive measures,  274  ;  estab- 
lishes martial  law,  274,  275  ; 
fortifies  Governor's  Islaud, 
275>  276  ;  in  general  charge 
of  the  works  after  arrival  of 
Washington,  277  ;  again  in 
chief  command  at  New 
York,  278 ;  reports  to  the 
absent  Washington,  278;  has 
difficulty  in  quelling  a  riot, 
279;  present  at  an  entertain- 
ment, 279;  his  new  aide-de- 
camp, Burr,  280;  plotted 
against  by  Tory  conspira- 
tors, 281  ;  an  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  281;  plans 
fire-crafts  and  chevaux-de- 
frise,  282  ;  interested  in  the 
"American  Turtle,"  283, 
284 ;  kindness  to  Margaret 
Moucrieffe,  285-289  ;  re- 
tained within  New  York  in 
command  of  a  division  ofthe 
main  army,  289  ;  receives  a 
letter  from  Gates,  290,  291  ; 
reports  departure  of  British 
ships  from  Staten  Island, 
292,  293  ;  in  chief  command 
of  army  on  Lon-g  Island,  294; 
welcomed  at  Brooklyn 
Heights,  295  ;  examines  the 
defences,  295  ;  instructed  by 
Washington,  296 ;  recon- 
noitres enemy's  position, 
296 ;    aroused   at   night   by 


433 


Index 


Putnam  Israel— Continued. 
news  of  a  hostile  approach, 
297  ;  sends  out  troops  under 
Stirling,  297,  298  ;  alarmed 
by  flank  movement  of  the 
enemy,  299;  commands 
within  the  fortified  lines 
duringbattle  of  Long  Island, 
300,301;  anecdote,  301,  302; 
not  responsible  for  the  de- 
feat, 302-304 ;  favours  re- 
treat, 306;  assists  in  with- 
drawing army  from  hong 
Island,  306,  307;  commands 
a  division  of  army  for  pro- 
tection of  New  York,  307  ; 
superintends  removal  of 
stores  and  troops,  308;  hears 
British  cannon  at  Kip's  Bay, 
308 ;  tries  to  rally  panic- 
stricken  Americans,  309;  re- 
turns to  the  city  to  extricate 
his  men,  309;  his  fortunate 
escape  with  his  men  to  Har- 
lem Heights,  310,  311;  in  the 
battle  of  Harlem  Heights, 
314-317  ;  leads  a  bold  enter- 
prise, 318 ;  on  the  march 
towards  White  Plains,  319  ; 
in  the  battle  of  White  Plains, 
320-322;  crosses  to  New  Jer- 
sey with  a  detachment,  323; 
at  the  fall  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, 324-326;  with  Wash- 
ington on  the  retreat  across 
New  Jersey,  326-328 ;  in 
chief  command  at  Philadel- 
phia, 328  ;  describes  condi- 
tion of  affairs  in  the  city, 
329;  establishes  martial  law, 
329,  330 ;  dislikes  Quakers, 
33°>  33 1  :  advises  Congress 
to  remove  from  Philadel- 
phia, 331,  332;  unable  to  as- 
sist Washington  in  Trenton 
undertaking,  332-334;  learns 
of  Trenton  victory,  335  ;  in 
charge  of  the  captured  Hes- 
sians, 335;  treats  the  prison- 


ers hospitably,  336  ;  ordered 
to  advance  from  Philadel- 
phia, 337  ;  receives  a  letter 
from  Washington,  describ- 
ing victory  at  Princeton, 
337,  338;  delays  in  inarching 
to  Princeton,  338;  kindness 
to  Captain  McPherson,  340, 
341  ;  sends  out  scouting  par- 
ties, 341  ;  letter  to  Pennsyl- 
vania Council  of  Safety,  342; 
deals  summarily  with  des- 
perado Stockton,  342,  343  ; 
reports  hostile  movements 
for  capture  of  Philadelphia, 
343  ;  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Hudson  High- 
lands, 344,  345  ;  arranges  for 
a  boom  across  Hudson 
River,  345  ;  headquarters  at 
Peekskill,  345  ;  prevented 
from  carrying  out  plan  to 
surprise  the  enemy's  force 
at  Kingsbridge,  346  ;  sends 
reinforcements  to  Washing- 
ton, 346  ;  learns  of  the  loss 
of  Ticonderoga  and  prob- 
able approach  of  the  British 
up  the  Hudson,  346-348  ; 
misled  by  an  intercepted 
letter  after  the  depart- 
ure of  the  British  from 
New  York,  348  ;  loath 
to  forward  more  troops 
to  Gen.  Washington,  348 ; 
punishes  deserters  and  spies, 
349>  35°  I  orders  the  execu- 
tion of  Bdmund  Palmer,  350, 
351  ;  allows  some  of  the 
troops  to  return  home,  352  ; 
appeals  for  recruits,  352,  353; 
surprised  by  advance  of  the 
enemy  up  the  Hudson,  354  ; 
his  letter  describing  the  loss 
of  Fort  Montgomery,  355- 
357  ;  distressed  by  death  of 
his  step-son,  357  ;  solicitous 
for  his  ill  wife,  357,  358;  pur- 
sues  the   British,    358 ;    his 


Index 


439 


Putnam  Israel — Continued. 
plan  for  a  march  to  New 
York  discountenanced,  358, 
359;  afflicted  by  death  of  his 
wife,  359 ;  reports  to  Wash- 
ington the  news  of  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender,  360 ;  at 
Fishkill,  360;  his  project  for 
diversion  of  Briiish,  361  ; 
ordered  by  Hamilton  to  for- 
ward troops  to  Washington, 
362;  neglects  to  comply  with 
Hamilton's  directions,  362, 
363;  censured  by  Hamilton 
in  a  peremptory  order,  363- 
365  ;  forwards  the  troops, 
366;  plans  various  enter- 
prises in  region  of  New 
York  and  Long  Island, 
366,  367  ;  criticised  by  in- 
habitants of  New  York, 
368;  selects  West  Point  as 
site  for  new  fort,  370  ; 
reports  to  Washington  the 
progress  of  affairs  in  the 
Highlands  and  the  pitiable 
condition  of  the  troops,  371, 
372  ;  visits  Connecticut,  372; 
his  unpopularity  the  subject 
of  correspondence  between 
Chancellor  Livingston  and 
Washington,  372,  373  ;  su- 
perseded by  McDougall,  373; 
exonerated  by  Court  of  In- 
quiry from  all  blame  in  the 
Hudson  disaster,  374,  375  ; 
superintends  the  forwarding 
of  recruits  from  Connecti- 
cut,  377  ;  desirous  of  service 
in  the  main  army,  378,  379  ; 
in  command  of  troops  for- 
merly under  L,ee,  379 ;  at 
White  Plains,  379 ;  near 
West  Point,  380,  381  ;  de- 
scribed by  Surgeon  Thacher, 
380 ;  his  letter  to  Washing- 
ton concerning  a  hostile 
incursion,  381,  382  ;  at  a  din- 
ner,   382 ;    in   command   of 


eastern  division  of  army  for 
winter  of  1777-78,  383 ; 
headquarters  at  Redding, 
Conn.,  383;  referred  to  in 
poems  by  Humphreys  and 
Barlow,  383,  384 ;  tactful 
speech  to  mutinous  men, 
385  ;  deals  summarily  with 
spies,  385,  386 ;  anecdotes, 
387,  388  ;  at  Horseneck, 
388 ;  his  report  of  an  en- 
counter with  Tryon's  force, 
389-391  ;  his  famous  ride 
at  Horseneck,  391-393  ; 
prepares  for  new  campaign, 
395;  appears  before  Connec- 
ticut Assembly,  395 ;  letter 
to  Col.  Wadsworth,  395, 
396  ;  assigned  to  command 
of  the  right  wing  of  army  in 
Highlands,  396  ;  his  farewell 
order  to  troops  at  Redding, 
396  ;  resists  advance  of  the 
British  up  the  Hudson,  398  ; 
headquarters  at  Buttermilk 
Falls,  398  ;  visits  home,  399; 
stricken  with  paralysis 
while  on  his  way  to  rejoin 
the  army,  400 ;  taken  back 
to  Pomfret,  400  ;  visited  by 
Humphreys,  401  ;  dictates  a 
letter  to  Washington,  402  ; 
receives  a  reply,  403  ;  visits 
the  army  at  Tappan,  403  ; 
treasures  a  letter  from 
Washington,  404,  405  ;  en- 
tertains his  guests  with 
reminiscences  of  his  experi- 
ences, 405  ;  his  favourite 
anecdotes,  406,  407  ;  his  let- 
ter to  the  Windham  County 
Court,  407,  408  ;  described 
by  contemporaries,  408  ; 
visits  his  birthplace  and 
Harvard  College,  409 ;  his 
declining  years,  409,  410 ; 
attends  religious  services, 
410  ;  receives  another  visit 
from  Humphreys,  410,  411  ; 


44-0 


Index 


Putnam  Israel — Continued. 

last  illness,  411  ;  death,  411  ; 

funeral,  411,   412  ;  eulogies, 

412,    413;    monument,  414  ; 

will,  415  ;  swords  and  other 

relics,  415  ;  statues,  415,  416; 

estimate   of   his    character, 

417-419. 
Putnam,  Israel,  Jr.,  8,   18,  19, 

160,  196,  223,  253,  263,  264, 

379,  383,  401,  409,  415 
Putnam,  Israel  Waldo,  52 
Putnam,  John,  2,  55 
Putnam,  John,  Jr.,  2 
Putnam,  John  P.,  192 
Putnam,  Joseph,  1-4,  56 
"  Putnam's  Ledge"  or  "Put's 

Rock,"  57 
Putnam,  Mary,  sister  of  Israel 

Putnam,  4 
Putnam,    Mary,    daughter  of 

Israel  Putnam,  19,  156,  401 
Putnam,   Mehitable,  sister  of 

Israel  Putnam,  4 
Putnam,  Mehitable,  daughter 

of  Israel  Putnam,    19,    156, 

193,  4oi 
Putnam,  Nathaniel,  2 
Putnam,  Col.  Perley,  15,  405 
Putnam,  Peter  Schuyler,   148, 

156,  409,  415 
Putnam,  Priscilla,  2 
Putnam,  Rachel,  4 
Putnam,  Rufus,  55-57,  60-64, 

67>  69,  79,  162,  163,  168-172, 

269,  278, 295,  321, 373,  374,  409 
Putnam,  Judge  Samuel,  15,  94, 

405,  406,  408,  409 
Putnam,  Sarah,  4 
Putnam,  Deacon  Tarrant,  197 
Putuam,  Thomas,  2,  55 
Putnam,  Sergt.  Thomas,  3 
Putnam,  Ensign  Timothy,  31 
Putnam,  William,  4 
Puttenham,  George,  2 

R 

Radiere,  370,  373 
Randolph,  Peyton,  186 


Reed,    Col.    James,    223,    224, 

227,  237 
Reed,    Adj.  Gen.  Joseph,   262, 

265,  270,  292,  294,  313,  315- 

317,  332-334,  336,  337,  339 
Remsen,  Mr.,  301,  302 
Revere,  Paul,  192 
Richards,  Ensign,  272 
Richardson,  Colonel,  315 
Rivington,  James,  368,  388 
Robertson,  Major-General,  368 
Rodgers,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  164 
Rogers,    Maj.    Robert,    26-41, 

48,  49,  73,  76-78,  80,  87-89 
Runnels,  Ezra,  228 
Russell,  Seth,  208 


Saccapee,  100 

Sadler,  Capt.  John,  56 

St.  Iveger,  Colonel,  346,  351 

Scarborough,  Joseph,  160 

Schooner     General    Putnam, 

277 
Schuyler,    Col.    Peter,    96-99, 

148 
Schuyler,     Maj. -Gen.     Philip, 

247,  266,  267,  278,  349,  351, 

358 
Scott,     Brig.-Gen.     John    M., 

295,  3o6,  307,  379,  381 
Seaver,  Elijah,  208 
Sefford,  Captain,  61 
Sharp,  John,  12 
Sharp,  Thomas,  207 
Shepherd,  W.  R.,  316 
Sherburne,  Major,  276 
Sheriff,  Colonel,  178,  288 
Sherman,  Roger,  205 
Shewkirk,  Rev.  Mr.,  279 
Shirley,  Gov.  William,  44,  50 
Silliman,    Col.    Gold   Selleck, 

276,  305-307,  309 
Skene,  Gov.  Philip,  286 
Skinner,  Cortlandt,  342 
Small,    Maj.  John,     167,    178, 

233,  234,  254 
Smith,  John,  385,  386 


Index 


441 


Sparks,  Jared,  302 

Spencer,    Brig. -Gen.     Joseph, 

196,   197,    247-249,  253,   277, 

289,  306,  307,  313,  317,  318 
Stark,  Col.  John,  28,- 200,  221, 

223,  224,  227,  237,  352 
Stiles,  Dr.,  303 
Stirling,  Lord,    275,  277,    278, 

285,  295,  298-302,   319,    323, 

326,  347,  348,  381 
Stockton,    Maj.  Richard,  342, 

343 
Storrs,  Lieut.-Col.  Experience, 

245 
Sullivan,     Brig.  -  Gen.    John, 

247,  253,  273,  289,  294,  296, 

297,  299,  302-304,    3*9,   333, 

347-349 
Swett,   Col.  Samuel,  212,  218, 

219,  225,  229-231,  238 


Thacher,  Dr.  James,  284,  310, 

380,  382 
Thomas,  Brig.-Gen.  John,  247, 

253,  269 
Thompson,  Charles  Otis,   123, 

163 
Thompson,  Col.  Jabez,  310 
Tileston,  Mr.,  208 
Tilghman,  Aide-de-camp,  316 
Todd,  Charles  B.,  387 
Townshend,  Charles,  173 
Tracy,  Lieutenant,  96 
Tracy,  Ruth  Carter,  55 
Trepezec,  76,  77 
Trumbull,  Benjamin,  121 
Trumbull,    John,     author    of 

M' Fin  gal,  205 
Trumbull,   Col.   John,  painter 

of   The  Battle   of    Bunker 

Hill,  234,  237 
Trumbull,  Gov.  Jonathan,  193, 

354,  377,  39o,  394 
Tryon,    Gov.     William,      311, 

344,  366,  388-390,  349 
Tupper,  Lieut, -Col.  Benjamin, 

277 


Tyler,  Daniel,  Jr.,  175,  177,  193 
Tyne,  John,  207 


\ 


Van  Schaick,  Colonel,  360 
Vaudreuil,  Marquis  de,  97,98, 

114 
Velasco,  Don  Luis  de,  121 
Veren,  Mrs.  Mary,  2 
Veren,  Nathaniel,  2 

W 

Wadsworth,     Col.    Jeremiah, 

395,  4oo 
Wadsworth,  Brig.-Gen.  Peleg, 

295,  306,  309 
Waldo,    Dr.    Albigence,    246, 

413 

Waldo,  Captain,  64 

Waldo,  Sarah,   156 

Wall,  Captain,  61 

Ward,  Maj.  Gen.  Artemas,i95, 
x97»  J98,  204,  210,  212,  215, 
219-221,  223,  245,  247,  253, 
259,  271,  272 

Ward,  J.  Q.  A.,  415 

Warner,  Colonel,  360,  362,  363 

Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  177,  178, 
182,  198,  202,  204,  206,  207, 
210,  211,  225,  226,  236,  237, 
239,  240 

Warrups,  Tom,  387,  388 

Washington, Gen.  George,  192, 
246-249,  252,  256-259,  261, 
264,  267,  269,  270,  273,  277- 
281,  287,  292-294,  296,  297, 
301,  303,  304,  306-309,  312- 
33o,  332-339,  341-349,  351- 
357,  359-385,  397-399,  402 
405. 

Washington,  Mrs.  George, 
257,  287 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony,  398 

Webb,  Gen.  Daniel,  50,  61,  65- 
69 

Webb,  Col.  Samuel  B.,  249, 
2$3,  278,  347,  367 


442 


Index 


Webster,  Daniel,  234 
West,  Captain,  61 
Whitcomb,  Gen.  John,  217 
Whiting,  Col.  Nathan,  23,  116 
Whitney,    Rev.    Josiah,    148, 

161,  412,  413,  417 
Wiggles  worth,    Colonel,    374, 

375 
Wilcot,  Esquire,  187 
Williams,  Chaplain,  21 
Williams,  Col.  Bbenezer,  155, 

193,  194 
Williams,   Col.  Ephraim,  22, 

23 


Williams,  Samuel,  158 

Winslow,  Job,  274 

Winslow,  Gen.  John,  44,  50,  51 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  331 

Wolfe,  Gen.  James,    102,  106, 

157,  311 
Woodford,  Brig.-Gen.  William, 

379.  38o 
Wooster,     Maj.-Gen.     David, 

196,  205,  247 


Young,  Dr.  Thomas,  178 


Heroes  of  the  Nations, 


EDITED  BY 


EVELYN  ABBOTT,  M.A., 
Fellow  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford. 


A  SERIES  of  biographical  studies  of  the  lives  and  work 
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during  his  career. 

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son. 
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